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This online database tracks the 100+ legal challenges against Trump

Mashable - 4 hours 14 min ago

In the first 24 hours of Donald Trump's new administration, the president signed 26 executive orders, setting an anti-progressive agenda in motion. Dozens more orders followed in the weeks after, with the Trump administration enacting 89 executive actions as of March, according to the nonpartisan American Presidency Project.

Legal challenges rolled in almost immediately. A mere six days after Trump's inauguration, Just Security, an online forum and publisher of legal and political analysis, had enough court filings and legal headlines to warrant a digital, Trump-focused litigation tracker — a running list of the civil rights organizations, labor unions, state governments, and individuals who have been pushing back against the barrage of executive orders and policy changes. Other legal groups have launched similar trackers.

SEE ALSO: Down with the Enola Gay? Defense Department purging digital materials under Trump's DEI orders

As of this story's publishing, Just Security's tracker shows 119 open cases across 10 different topic areas, from government grants and assistance to environmental policy, like Trump's rescission of the United States' climate pledges and the deletion of climate data on federal sites.

Credit: Dominic Gwinn / Contributor / AFP via Getty Images

Several federal courts have interceded in the president's actions, blocking or delaying some and reaffirming others. Here's a brief rundown of the administration's largest legal battlegrounds:

Attacks on LGBTQ rights 

The Trump administration took little time in issuing an anti-transgender executive order in its first week, declaring the existence of just "two biological sexes," determined at the "point of conception." The order has already initiated a rolling back of protections for LGBTQ people and the weaponization of federal law against trans communities, according to both the Human Rights Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. State Department on behalf of seven plaintiffs for a new policy that bans the "X" gender marker on U.S. identification and forces individuals to carry passports listed with their assigned sex at birth rather than their gender identity. The ACLU argues that this violates Americans' right to travel and right to privacy, as well as the constitution's Equal Protection Clause. 

Several other lawsuits, including one filed by LGBTQ nonprofit PFLAG, challenge a Trump executive order that bans gender affirming care for transgender youth and another order that bans transgender student athletes from teams that align with their gender identity. PFLAG argues that such restrictions are a form of discrimination and an excessive use of presidential powers. 

Two cases take issue with the Pentagon's ban and removal of trans people serving in the military under the Constitution's due process and equal protection clauses, revitalizing a similar legal challenge during Trump's first term. Three other lawsuits focus on the forced housing of transgender inmates in prisons that don't align with their gender identity, a policy that studies indicate increases rates of violence and sexual trauma while contributing to a lower quality of care among prison populations.

Credit: Stephanie Keith / Bloomberg via Getty Images Purging of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts

Amid the flurry of first day actions, Trump also signed an executive order entitled "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing" that directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to eradicate "illegal DEI" policies and programs. One day later, the president issued a follow-up order that revoked several equal employment opportunity directives. 

Several higher education groups, including the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT), are suing the administration for its OMB anti-DEI directives. Both the NEA and AFT's cases center on a Dear Colleague Letter published by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which enforced a U.S. Supreme Court decision that would ban affirmative action and direct colleges to end DEI programs or lose federal funding. The organizations argue the ban is a violation of free speech, due process, and the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs rule making by federal agencies.

Other national organizations, like the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and the National Urban League, filed lawsuits claiming the executive orders against DEI and equal employment policies were similarly unconstitutional. Regional and community groups also filed suit against the termination of DEI programs, citing the order's impact on funding, programming, and their constituencies themselves. Groups include the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Chicago Women in Trades. 

The lawsuits don't just castigate Trump — federal entities implicated in these lawsuits include the National Endowment for the Arts, acting Education Secretary Denise Carter, and the entire Department of Education.

Credit: Jim West / UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty Images Immigration and denial of birthright citizenship 

In compliance with an executive order titled "Protecting The American People Against Invasion," Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have ramped up their efforts to detain and remove undocumented people residing in the U.S., in line with Trump's goal to deport migrants in historic numbers during his second term. 

For example, the administration has ordered expedited removals of certain residents without trials under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) — immigrant rights nonprofit Make the Road New York sued the administration arguing the unconstitutionality of the order. On Jan. 20, the DHS issued a new set of ICE and CBP guidelines rescinding Biden administration rules that prevented agents from conducting raids close to or in "sensitive" areas, such as places of worship, schools, and hospitals. Dozens of religious and cultural groups, including Quaker and Mennonite congregations, as well as the Denver Public School System, filed separate lawsuits against the DHS for violating the constitution's right to the freedom of religion, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act and Freedom of Information Act.

Other actions being fought in courts include the decision by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan asylum seekers, the removal of refugee and asylum programs, the sunsetting of the CBP One app, and the decision to transfer detained migrant populations to Guantanamo Bay

Another day one executive order, "Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship," excluded birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented residents. Just Security reports the order has received more than a dozen legal challenges —  submitted by the ACLU, immigrant rights organizations, 18 state governments, and individuals affected by the new policy — arguing that it is a misinterpretation of the rights afforded in the Fourteenth Amendment.

Credit: Kena Betancur / AFP via Getty Images Mismanagement of government funding and employees

The actions of the Trump-branded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its leader Elon Musk (aka the head honcho of X, SpaceX and Tesla), have faced a multitude of legal challenges, Just Security notes. 

Advocacy group Public Citizen and several workers unions sued the OMB for establishing DOGE under the Executive Office of the President, arguing that allowing a private citizen (Musk) to access citizen information is a violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act — the case was later dropped in favor of pursuing the issue in separate cases. Public Citizen also took the Treasury Department to court for allegedly allowing DOGE to access citizens' sensitive data. National Security Counselors, Inc. and the American Public Health Association have sued on similar grounds, and at least a dozen other lawsuits have been filed challenging DOGE's access to personal and financial information at large. Plaintiffs in those cases include the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the University of California Students Association, the Alliance for Retired Americans and the American Federation of Government Employees. 

Other groups — like Democracy Forward, Project on Government Oversight and Environmental Defense Fund — have filed Freedom of Information Act requests to access details on DOGE operations. Several lawsuits, including one brought forth by a group of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees, challenge Musk's appointment by evoking the Appointments Clause, as he wasn't confirmed by an official Senate vote. 

In February, Trump ordered a freeze on federal grants and loans. While the general freeze was halted by a judge who questioned its constitutionality, budget and grant funding has remained under attack by DOGE. Multiple groups challenged the administration for revoking funding, including the National Association of Nonprofits and 23 attorneys general in a joint filing. Other groups, including the Global Health Council and American Foreign Service Association, have filed lawsuits specifically against the dismantling of USAID, as well as cuts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). 

In March, 19 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for the mass firing of recently hired government employees, arguing that probationary employees were falsely misled during their terminations. Prior to this lawsuit, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) issued an investigation into the firings, and ordered the reinstatement of some staff across agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Credit: Alex Wroblewski / Contributor / AFP via Getty Images

Mercedes’s Most Affordable Sedan Will Be Electric

NYT Technology - 4 hours 16 min ago
The German luxury carmaker said its latest compact sedan solved problems that had kept people from buying electric vehicles.

European spacecraft got rare close-up of Mars lesser-known moon

Mashable - 4 hours 29 min ago

A European spacecraft on a journey to study NASA's asteroid crash site did a quick pop-in of Mars on its way, capturing unprecedented images of Mars' lesser-known moon, Deimos. 

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, but scientists know relatively little about them, especially the smaller one, Deimos. Nearly all of the images they have of it were taken from the Martian surface by rovers, and because the moon is tidally locked — meaning one full spin matches the amount of time it takes to complete its orbit of Mars — only one side has been seen on the Red Planet. 

The Hera mission spacecraft captured views of the moon's far side, swinging within 625 miles of Deimos in space

While the car-sized spacecraft flew around the Mars system, flight controllers on Earth temporarily lost communication with Hera because the signal was blocked. Though the blackout was planned for the maneuver, Ian Carnelli, the European Space Agency's Hera mission manager, said it was deeply emotional. 

"I was almost in tears. I mean, I know probably this is normal for a flight for spacecraft operators, but every time we lose contact with a spacecraft, I'm super nervous," he said during a webcast following the flyby. "Then I was running to the room where the scientists were [watching for images], and as soon as I opened the door, they were screaming — really screaming."

SEE ALSO: Scientists found huge beaches on Mars likely from a long gone ocean View this post on Instagram

Among those scientists was one of the co-founders of Queen. When Brian May isn't playing guitar riffs, he is an astrophysicist. As part of Hera's science team, May brings his expertise in stereoscopic imaging. That means he helps decipher complex scientific data into 3D pictures. 

During a webcast on Thursday, May described some of the topographical details of the moon already brought to life through the raw data. A depression in the city-sized moon was visible, a feature May described as a "saddle" on the left side and some little craters at the bottom. 

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

"You feel like you're there, and you see the whole scene in front of you," he said. "The science that we get from this is colossal, and I think we're all like children."

Hera launched in October 2024 and will rendezvous with Dimorphos, an asteroid previously slammed by a NASA spacecraft, in 2026. Back in 2022, NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into a harmless asteroid to practice thwarting a space rock, should a hazardous one ever be on a collision course with Earth. The European Space Agency is providing a follow-up to that test.

Deimos, one of Mars' two moons, is eight miles wide and orbits about 14,600 miles away from the Red Planet. Credit: ESA This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The flyby of Mars and Deimos wasn't a detour but a necessary maneuver to put the spacecraft on the right trajectory toward its ultimate destination. Swinging within 3,100 miles of Mars, Hera used its gravity to adjust its course. 

Scientists would like to understand where Deimos and its partner Phobos came from — whether they were once asteroids captured in orbit around Mars or are chunks of the planet itself, blown out by a giant impact. 

View this post on Instagram

The new data may help them figure out the moon's origin. During the flyby, three instruments were used: a black-and-white navigation camera that takes pictures in visible light; a hyperspectral imager that can help discern an object's mineral composition; and a thermal infrared imager supplied by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, which can help characterize the texture and density of the material. Overall, thousands of images were collected, and the Hera team is still processing them. 

At the top of this story is an infrared photo of Deimos, backdropped by Mars. The Red Planet appears pale blue because the sun is shining on it. Its contribution to this scene would need to be removed for the colors to appear closer to how they would really look to our eyes.

A thermal camera on the Hera spacecraft took images that will help scientists characterize the texture and density of the material that makes up Deimos. Credit: ESA / JAXA

Near the top of the image is the bright Terra Sabaea region, close to the Martian equator. At the bottom right of the region is the Huygen crater, and to its left is the Schiaparelli crater. At the bottom right of the planet is Hellas Basin, one of the largest known craters in the solar system. 

In a little less than two years, Hera will reach the target asteroids from NASA's DART mission to begin a crash investigation.

How Dope Thief seamlessly blends drama with absurdist humor

Mashable - 5 hours 7 min ago

Brian Tyree Henry, Wagner Maura, Kate Mulgrew and Nesta Cooper on the dark, yet hilarious, world that Peter Craig creates in Dope Thief.

Dope Thief premieres March 14 on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes, then streams weekly every Friday.

Samsung reportedly set to announce bone-conducting earphones at Galaxy Z Fold 7 launch

Mashable - 5 hours 16 min ago

Samsung is rumored to launch the Galaxy Fold 7 sometime in July, and it appears as though the phone won’t be the only thing Samsung is bringing along to the party. Rumors suggest that they’ll also be debuting a pair of bone conduction headphones.

The rumor comes from noted leaker Ice Universe on Weibo, the Chinese social media site. Per the post (translated by Google Translate), Ice Universe says that “Samsung Electronics MX division will release bone conductive headphones at the Samsung Fold conference in July.” 

Details are limited, but Ice Universe says the codename of the headset is “Able” and it’ll use open wireless stereo (OWS) that “can transmit sound from around the ear instead of cramming the headphones into the ear.”

Other details like availability, design, color, and pricing were not mentioned. 

SEE ALSO: Samsung has phone concepts that bend, stretch and fold in every possible way

This may be a language barrier issue, but OWS and bone conduction are two different technologies. OWS — also known as air conduction — are basically earbuds that sit close to the ear without being inside of it, and sound transmits into the user’s ear canal. Bone conduction attaches to the side of the user’s head and bypasses the ear by transmitting sound through the skull. 

So, as TechRadar notes, Samsung is certainly making something, but we’re not entirely certain if the new headset will use air conduction, bone conduction, or some mixture of the two. However, the most logical conclusion is that OWS refers to the open earbud design, similar to the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, that sits on the outside of your ear. We may have to wait until July to know for sure. 

It would be a big step for Samsung as the bone conduction market is a little thin and could use a big player. For now, Shokz, Philips, and H2O top the market, so there is certainly room for the bone conduction space to grow. Consequently, if they are open wireless earbuds, Samsung would be joining Bose in tackling that newer market.

Amazon deal of the day: One of our top Bluetooth speakers, the Sonos Move 2, is back on sale

Mashable - 5 hours 21 min ago
Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of March 13: OUR TOP PICK Sonos Move 2 $359 (save $90) Get Deal BEST TAX SOFTWARE DEAL TurboTax Deluxe Federal + State 2024 software $55.99 (save $24) Get Deal BEST KITCHEN DEAL Stanley Quencher H2.0 $26.25 (save $8.75) Get Deal RUNNER-UP SPEAKER DEAL Anker Soundcore 2 portable speaker $27.99 (save $17 with Prime) Get Deal

Don't feel like waiting around for Amazon's not yet official Spring Sale to do some deal shopping? We've got you covered. There are plenty of deals already floating around at the mega retailer just waiting for you to pounce — including top brands like Sonos and Stanley. We rounded up some of our favorites to help you get a jump start.

Here are our picks for the best Amazon deals of the day on March 13. If none of these are your cup of tea, be sure to check out our picks from yesterday, March 12. A few of those deals are still live, including 36% off the Sonos Ray, our favorite starter soundbar.

Our top pick: Sonos Move 2 Opens in a new window Credit: Sonos Sonos Move 2 $359 at Amazon
$449 Save $90 Get Deal

The Sonos Move 2 isn't the most portable option for a Bluetooth speaker, but it's still one of our favorites. We particularly like it for its dynamic smart features, impressive stereo sound, and 24-hour battery life. It also seamlessly slips into any home with its sleek black or white design options. "This speaker is one of the best in class, and the quality of sound it produces is reason enough to consider it," Mashable's Stan Shcroeder writes. It's usually $449, but as of March 13, it's down to $359. That's 20% in savings.

Check out our full review of the Sonos Move 2.

TurboTax Deluxe Federal + State Opens in a new window Credit: Intuit TurboTax Deluxe Federal + State 2024 software $55.99 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $24.00 Get Deal

Tax season is in full swing. If you haven't filed your taxes yet and plan on doing so yourself, this deal on TurboTax Deluxe can help you save some money, time, and stress. The Deluxe Federal + State software is particularly recommended for homeowners, those with high medical expenses, and those who make multiple charitable donations per year. It includes five federal e-files and one state file via download, plus live tax advice from experts during preparation. It's also cheaper than filing through TurboTax online. Usually $79.99, the Deluxe software for Mac or PC is on sale for just $55.99 again as of March 13. That's 30% in savings.

Stanley Quencher H2.0 Opens in a new window Credit: Stanley Stanley Quencher H2.0 $26.25 at Amazon
$35 Save $8.75 Get Deal

Though much of the TikTok hype has died down, Stanley still makes very good cups. The Quencher H2.0 tumbler, which features a handle and a straw, is on sale in several colors and sizes as of March 13 so you can up your hydration this spring. Grab the 30-ounce cup for $26.25 instead of $35 or the 40-ounce for $33.75 instead of $45. That's 25% off either size. These babies are double-wall vacuum insulated, leakproof, car cup holder-friendly, and dishwasher safe. Plus, like all Stanley cups, they'll keep ice for up to two days.

Anker Soundcore 2 Bluetooth Speaker Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Anker Soundcore 2 Bluetooth speaker $27.99 at Amazon
$44.99 Save $17.00 with Prime Get Deal

The small and mighty Anker Soundcore 2 Bluetooth speaker is hard to beat in terms of value. As of March 13, it's on sale for just $27.99 with Prime (reg. $44.99) and it offers stereo sound, a durable design with IPX7 protection against rain, dust, and more, and a 24-hour battery life to pump out your playlists days and night. As a Lightning deal, it won't stick around for long as this price. So act quick if you want to secure 38% off.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

Amazon has Stanley Quencher tumblers for 25% off in tons of colorways

Mashable - 5 hours 38 min ago

SAVE 25%: The Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler is 25% off at Amazon in both 30 ounce and 40 ounce versions.

Opens in a new window Credit: Stanley Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler (30 ounce) $26.25 at Amazon
$35 Save $8.75 Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Stanley Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler (40 ounce) $37.50 at Amazon
$50 Save $12.50 Get Deal

Warmer weather means it's even more important to focus on hydration. Drinking water sounds easy in practice, but it usually doesn't work out to be quite so simple. If you're one who prefers to stay hydrated with a fun water bottle, check out this nice deal at Amazon.

As of March 13, the Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler is on sale for 25% off at Amazon in several sizes and colorways. The 30-ounce version is on sale for $26.25, down from the normal price of $35. The larger 40-ounce Stanley Quencher is on sale for $37.50, down from the typical price of $50.

Made with durable 18/8 stainless steel, the Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumblers are designed to last a lifetime. Your cold drinks will stay perfectly chilled thanks to the double-wall vacuum insulation, and the comfortable handle makes a world of difference.

Stanley mentions the 30 ounce can keep iced drinks cold for up to 40 hours while the 40-ounce version can do the same for up to two days. Plus, both sizes are designed to be compatible with most car cup holders.

The FlowState lid has three positions, including a straw opening which is meant to resist splashes. You can also opt to hydrate via the drink opening.

If your spring and summer goals involve staying on top of hydration, grab a new Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler for 25% off at Amazon. Bottoms up!

Facebook, Instagram beta testing Community Notes in the U.S.

Mashable - 5 hours 44 min ago

Meta will soon roll out its new fact-checking replacement, Community Notes, a crowd-sourced tool that will sunset the company's third party fact-checking team in favor of what Meta alleges is a "less biased" way to curb misinformation.

The company announced that the feature will begin testing among U.S. users on March 18, but Community Notes won't yet appear to the public while in beta testing. Once they do show up, users can expect to see small highlighted boxes at the bottom of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads posts, as well as options to contribute their own notes in the drop down menus on all Meta platforms. Notes will not have author names attached to them and will be capped at 500 words.

"We expect Community Notes to be less biased than the third party fact checking program it replaces because it allows more people with more perspectives to add context to posts," the company wrote. "This isn’t majority rules. No matter how many contributors agree on a note, it won’t be published unless people who normally disagree decide that it provides helpful context. "

SEE ALSO: Meta blocks whistleblower from promoting book, guaranteeing way more people will read it

Meta's approach is based entirely on the Community Notes feature that's become central to fact-checking at Elon Musk-owned X. Meta says it will use X's open source algorithm as the basis of its own rating system, with the potential to build out the feature as its deployed. "As X’s algorithm and program information is open source – meaning free and available for anyone to use – we can build on what X has done, learn from the researchers who have studied it, and improve the system for our own platforms," Meta explained. "We won’t be reinventing the wheel."

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the policy shift in January, saying: "Fact-checkers have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created... It's time to get back to our roots around free expression."

In February, the company opened up applications for what they're calling a "Community Notes network" of fact-checking contributors on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Contributors had to be 18 years or older, have an account at least six months old, and be in good standing. Meta said more than 200,000 people signed up across the company's three platforms and were added to a pending waitlist — many will be notified that they have been accepted as contributors in the coming days.

Meta also confirmed that Community Notes won't apply to paid advertisements for the time being, a decision initially leaked by an anonymous source in January that stirred greater concern over the company's evolving moderation and hateful conduct policies in the name of free speech. Posts that are tagged with a note won't receive any kind of penalty, either, such as the reduced visibility built into Meta's previous fact-checking system.

Whip up tasty drinks and slushes with $100 off the Ninja Slushi

Mashable - 5 hours 55 min ago

SAVE $100: As of March 13, get the Ninja Slushi for $249.99 at Woot, down from its usual price of $349.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Woot Ninja Slushi $249.99 at Woot
$349.99 Save $100 Get Deal

If you're the type of person to leave your home to go and grab a slushie because it sounds really good or you spend too much money on frappés at Starbucks, there's something better. It's called doing all that at home and making your own drinks and frozen treats. How can you do that? This Woot deal is a good place to start.

As of March 13, get the Ninja Slushi for $249.99 at Woot, down from its usual price of $349.99. This price is for a factory reconditioned model that Woot has taken care of itself, so you know you'll get working device, complete with a 90-day Woot limited warranty. You just get to save $100 instead of paying full price.

The Ninja Slushi is a versatile frozen drink machine. From juice to coffee and everything in between, it utilizes an ice-less system that uses an auger and cooling system to freeze liquids and give you the perfect temperature and consistency.

There are five preset settings as well as options to do one-touch frozen drinks in an hour or less, and it's super easy to disassemble and clean once you've made all the drinks you need for the moment. Plus, it runs quietly and can do so up to 12 hours, so you can leave your slushes and drinks in the machine and come back for more when you're ready instead of starting over each time.

Stop spending so much cash on frozen drinks (and the gas to go get them) and snap up this maker while it's $100 off. Homemade slush drinks will always be better since you can add as much flavoring as you want.

Give your wrists a break and grab the Logitech Lift Vertical Mouse for its lowest price yet

Mashable - 6 hours 26 min ago

SAVE $13: As of March 13, get the Logitech Lift Vertical Mouse for $56.99, down from its usual price of $69.99. That's a 19% discount and the lowest price we've tracked.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Logitech Lift Vertical Mouse $56.99 at Amazon
$69.99 Save $13.00 Get Deal

Do you have trouble with wrist pain interrupting your day? Do you find yourself fatigued easily when using the computer all day? You might just need a new mouse. Stop relying on your laptop's track pad and put down the gaming mouse. It might be time to give something a little different a try, and now's a good time to do so with this Amazon deal.

As of March 13, get the Logitech Lift Vertical Mouse for $56.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $69.99. That's a discount of 19% and its lowest price yet. This price applies to the right-handed version. You'll have to pay $59.99 for the left-handed option.

This ergonomic mouse is raised for better comfort, complete with a textured grip and a thumb rest to keep your hand at an angle that doesn't feel too unnatural. With 57 degrees of soothing, its vertical shape is made to help your wrists relax more naturally so you can get more done without feeling like your wrists are being contorted.

You can use this mouse via Bluetooth on just about any compatible device, and it has up to 2 years of battery life, so you just need to set it up and honestly just forget about it. Forget about everything but how much better it probably feels to not have to use a flat, uncomfortable mouse.

Get $70 off the Samsung Galaxy Watch7, plus score a free watch band

Mashable - 6 hours 47 min ago

SAVE $69.99: As of March 13, get the Samsung Galaxy Watch7 for $329.99 at Samsung. Plus, get a free watch band ($70 value) with your purchase.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Watch7 $329.99 at Amazon
$399.98 Save $69.99 Get Deal

Ready to add a new piece of tech to your wrist? If you're ready to snag a new smartwatch, now's a good time to do it. For Android owners, the Samsung Galaxy Watch line is a great option that rivals much of what the Apple Watch offers, as well as a swath of fitness options and other convenient ways to track your daily habits. And today, you can save on both a new Galaxy Watch and get a little freebie while you're at it.

As of March 13, get the Samsung Galaxy Watch7 for $329.99 at Samsung, down from its usual price of $399.98. That's a $69.99 discount. Additionally, get a free watch band with your purchase, up to a $69.99 valu. To claim this deal, simple purchase the Galaxy Watch7 and add a qualifying band to your cart before completing your order. The discount will automatically be applied. This deal is available throughl March 30.

This smartwatch offers plenty of health and fitness tracking sensors so you can keep track of your heart rate, sleep, and workouts. It can also detect sleep apnea. Figure out how ready you are for the day with a daily Energy Score rating, and compare your scores from days prior to see if you're improving or need a bit more work.

If you're more into keeping up with family and friends on the go, you can use the watch for that, too. Make calls, send texts, listen to music, and even use your watch as a remote to take photos. It can do just about anything you need it to, and it's versatile enough that you'll want it as your constant companion. And with this discount, you may as well go ahead and lock yours in.

Netflixs Bad Influence shows the dark side of kid influencers

Mashable - 7 hours 4 min ago

There have always been horror stories about kids in the entertainment industry. It tracks, then, that kid influencers might run into the same sorts of perils.

A new Netflix docuseries Bad Influence examines allegations surrounding Tiffany Smith, the momager for kid influencer Piper Rockelle. They racked up millions of views and dollars, but people have come forward with disturbing allegations about Smith and the way she treated the "squad" of kid influencers surrounding her daughter. The trailer suggests Smith sexualized the minors in the videos to rack up views and that she created an environment where the kids were fearful.

Smith and Rockelle, for their part, have denied the allegations but did settle a lawsuit. The three-episode docuseries premieres on April 9.

Save $80 on one of our favorite noise-canceling earbuds right now at Best Buy

Mashable - 10 hours 6 min ago

SAVE $80: As of March 13, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are on sale at Best Buy for $219. That's 26% off their list price of $299.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds $219 at Best Buy
$299 Save $80 Get Deal

If you've been on the hunt for some new, high-quality earbuds, Best Buy's offering a great deal at the moment that you don't want to miss. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, which we say are "impressive in every way" in our review, have had an $80 discount at the retailer.

This $80 discount has dropped their price from $299 to $219 at Best Buy. All of the available colors are discounted as well, so you can save on the black, white smoke, lunar blue, and the 60th anniversary diamond edition models. Not to mention, your purchase also comes with three months of YouTube Premium for free if you're a new subscriber, so you can give the earbuds a test run on a variety of videos and music on the platform.

SEE ALSO: The best headphones in 2025

Alongside a comfortable fit, these earbuds boast excellent noise-canceling features that landed them in the top spot of our ranking of the best noise-canceling earbuds and as the best for noise-canceling in our overall roundup of the best earbuds. The sound quality is just as nice as well, so you can be happily immersed in the sweet sounds of your favorite music, audiobooks, or podcasts. Our review had incredibly high praise for these earbuds, saying, "In terms of audio quality, noise cancellation, and battery life, I'm more impressed the longer I use these earbuds."

And speaking of battery life, these buds provide up to six hours of listening time so you can listen for longer between charges. Our review also notes that, "Bose promises the earbuds battery life will last six hours (24 hours with the charging case), and I can verify that claim. A lot of companies exaggerate their battery life, but I haven't found that to be the case with Bose."

Don't miss out on $80 off the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds at Best Buy.

Looking for even more earbud deals? You're in luck, as there are a couple more that are worth checking out at the moment! Over at Amazon, you can save on the AirPods Pro 2 and the Beats Fit Pro right now.

Seth Meyers gleefully roasts Trump and Musks Tesla ad

Mashable - 11 hours 14 min ago

Seth Meyers has become the latest late night host to roast Donald Trump and Elon Musk's White House Tesla ad, following the pasting Stephen Colbert gave it on Tuesday.

In the clip above Meyers goes through the footage — which followed the U.S. president promising to buy a Tesla after the company's stock price cratered — bit by bit, sharing his thoughts on everything from Trump saying he'll pay by cheque ("So fun to see the crypto president fully admit he's still a cheque guy — Bitcoin is the future, now real quick what day is it? I gotta mail this before they cut off the cable") to Trump saying "everything's computer!" after climbing inside one of the cars ("I give the man a hard time, but then he says something that really puts things in perspective").

Whats new to streaming this week? (March 13, 2025)

Mashable - 11 hours 47 min ago

Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that's before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each one!

Don't be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We've got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, animation, and more.

But if you're seeking something brand spanking new (or new to streaming), we've got you covered there, too.

SEE ALSO: The best Netflix TV shows of 2024

Mashable's entertainment team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of this week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Whether you're looking for some '90s nostalgia-fuelled adventures, a live Netflix chat show, or one of the best and most devastating TV shows of 2025 so far, we've got something just for you.

Here's what's new on streaming, from worst to best.

12. The Electric State

We're calling it now, Electric State is one of the worst movies of 2025. Following on the heels of flops like Cherry and The Gray Man, directing duo Joe Russo and Anthony Russo deliver an overcrowded adaptation of Simon Stålenhag's novel Electric State. And it's an absolute eyesore that feels like a slog.

Stranger Things' Millie Bobbie Brown teams with Chris Pratt for a meandering adventure set in an alternate 1990's, where mankind has survived a way with AI robots — who look like beloved cartoon characters and Mr. Peanut. But to find the brother she thought she lost, one hard-headed teen (Brown) must traverse into the No Man's Land where bots still reign. In my review of Electric State, I jeered, "The Russos are not creators, they're collectors. And here, they basically turned a junkpile aesthetic into a trash movie." — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

Starring: Millie Bobbie Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, and Giancarlo Esposito

How to watch: The Electric State comes to Netflix on March 14.

11. The Parenting

Meeting the parents takes a grisly turn in The Parenting, a horror comedy from Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) that boasts a cast including Brian Cox, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Edie Falco, and Dean Norris. The film centers on couple Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn), who have planned a weekend getaway to introduce their parents. But botched first impressions and incompatible families are nothing compared to the true horror of the weekend: a demon haunting the rental home.

Despite its stacked cast and the occasional standout line reading, The Parenting never takes its horror or comedy far enough, suffering instead from stilted pacing and tired family comedy clichés. But for all its flaws, it is a delight to see a possessed Cox in demon mode. On top of pulling some vomiting and head-spinning from The Exorcist's bag of tricks, his nasty tirades recall Cox's normal Succession dialogue. If you for some reason ever wondered what would happen if Logan Roy crossed paths with Pazuzu, The Parenting is your answer.. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

Starring: Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Parker Posey, and Vivian Bang

How to watch: The Parenting is now streaming on Max.

10. Long Bright River

Amanda Seyfried stars Long Bright River, a limited series adaptation of Liz Moore's bestselling novel. The Emmy winner plays Mickey, a Philadelphia police officer who patrols her former neighborhood of Kensington, which was deeply impacted by the opioid crisis. When a string of murders strikes Kensington women, Mickey realizes her long-missing sister Kacey (Ashleigh Cummings) may be affected. She and her old partner Truman (Nicholas Pinnock) jump on the case, kicking off a suspenseful search that reopens old wounds from Mickey's past.

Long Bright River boasts strong performances, especially from a very grounded Seyfried, but as a crime drama, it doesn't feel like anything we haven't seen before. (The Pennsylvania setting doesn't help the already several Mare of Easttown similarities.) One of the most fascinating aspects of the show is the soured relationship between Mickey and Kacey, but with so much of it relegated to flashbacks, this central story of two estranged sisters never quite takes off. — B.E.

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Nicholas Pinnock, Ashleigh Cummings, Callum Vinson, John Doman, Dash Mihok, Britne Oldford, Matthew Del Negro, Harriet Sansom Harris, Patch Darragh, and Perry Mattfeld

How to watch: Long Bright River is now streaming on Peacock.

9. Moana 2

Get ready to go "Beyond" all over again, because Moana 2 is coming to digital. The sequel to Disney's 2016 smash hit reunites us with wayfinder Moana (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho) as she embarks on a new quest to save her home island of Motunui. This time around, she must find the legendary island of Motufetu, which was cursed long ago by the human-hating god Nalo, and reconnect all the ocean's peoples.

The ensuing journey is a blast, with Moana's new companions adding extra fun to the high seas, and with demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) once again bringing his shapeshifting fun to the screen. Yet Moana 2 still falls short of Moana in several ways. Nalo proves to be an underwhelming villain, while Moana 2's songs are simply unmemorable without Lin-Manuel Miranda. As I wrote in my Moana 2 review, "Miranda's presence is greatly missed, with songs often feeling like lackluster rehashes of the first film's songs."*B.E.

Starring: Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Gerald Ramsey, and Alan Tudyk

How to watch: Moana 2 is now streaming on Disney+.

8. Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2

Maybe you're a Yellowstone fiend. Maybe you've heard everyone and their horse telling you to watch the Kevin Costner-led cowboy series — especially after the show's December 2024 finale drew a reported 13.1 million viewers in three days, according to Paramount. If you missed it, Season 5, Part 2 is coming to Peacock, so you can watch the Dutton family defend their Montana ranch for one last time. Get caught up in political developer land grabs, family secrets, and bloody drama with Taylor Sheridan and John Lindan's popular series. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

Starring: Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Gil Birmingham, Forrie J. Smith, Wendy Moniz, Moses Brings Plenty, Finn Little, Dawn Olivieri

How to watch: Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 is streaming on Peacock from March 16.

7. Evil Dead

Two Evil Dead movies for the price of one are staggering their way to Shudder this spring, in the form of Sam Raimi's original 1981 The Evil Dead and the franchise's fourth instalment/reboot, Evil Dead (2013). Although the latter isn't an exact remake, both stories have a similar plot: A group of young characters staying at a cabin in the woods accidentally awaken some evil forces, and possession-themed chaos ensues. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly, Richard DeManincor, Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore

How to watch: The Evil Dead and Evil Dead are streaming on Shudder from March 15.

6. Am I Being Unreasonable Season 2

Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli's comedy/drama/horror Am I Being Unreasonable? was one of our favourite shows of 2023, so expectations on the sequel are high. Following a haunted and struggling mother (Cooper) who's reeling from the tragic death of her brother-in-law – a man she was also having an affair with – season two follows directly on from that very memorable memorial episode that closed out the last season. Like the first outing, the tone flips seamlessly between over-the-top comedy and disturbing psychological horror, with plenty of twists along the way. — S.H.

Starring: Daisy May Cooper, Selin Hizli, Lenny Rush, Dustin Demri-Burns, Charlie Cooper

How to watch: Am I Being Unreasonable? Season 2 is now streaming on Hulu.

5. Everybody's Live with John Mulaney

John Mulaney leads Netflix's latest foray into live TV with a brand new celebrity chat show. Everybody's Live with John Mulaney is the follow-up to his live show on the streaming service, Everybody's in L.A., which ran as part of last year's Netflix Is a Joke Festival. Mulaney's new weekly series will see the comedian interviewing some impressive guests including Joan Baez, Michael Keaton, Fred Armisen, Cypress Hill, and Jessica Roy. He'll also be joined by his sidekicks for the show, comedian Richard Kind and service robot Saymo. — S.C.

How to watch: Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney premiered live on Netflix Wednesday, March 12, at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with new episodes weekly.

4. Dope Thief

Ready for a new crime drama full of twists, heralded actors, and character-driven humor? Based on the Daniel Tafoya novel, Dope Thief has all that and more.

Created by Peter Craig (The Town), this new Apple TV+ series stars Brian Tyree Henry as Ray Driscoll, a Philly entrepreneur with a unique business plan. Alongside his simple-minded bestie Manny (Wagner Moura), Ray impersonates a DEI agent to ambush low-level drug dealers, stealing their ill-gotten gains and illegal substances for profit. The money, they'll split. The drugs will go to a bigger dealer, who's a sort of father-figure to Ray. But when one of these raids goes sideways, there's fire, death, and a wounded survivor hellbent on revenge. Can Ray and Manny survive once they've got a vicious kingpin and the actual DEI on his trail? You'll have to tune in to find out! — K.P.

Starring:  Brian Tyree Henry, Wagner Maura, Marin Ireland, and Kate Mulgrew

How to watch: Dope Thief debuts with episodes 1 and 2 on Apple TV+ on March 14; new episodes drop weekly.

3. Wheel of Time Season 3

The Wheel of Time turns into its third season, and the stakes have never been higher. Dragon Reborn Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski) is on the run from the Forsaken, with his journey bringing him to the Aiel Waste. There, trials await him and his traveling companions, including Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and Egwene (Madeleine Madden). Particularly disturbing is a vision that Moiraine receives that tells her Rand can only survive if she dies, and vice versa. Could we be losing one of our two leads this season?

SEE ALSO: How Amazon's 'Wheel of Time' is different from the books

Panic about that outcome aside, The Wheel of Time remains an epic fantasy treat three seasons in. The ensemble cast continues to click, even when thrown into new and intriguing combinations, and each new location explored provides ample opportunity for awe. Plus, magical battles are off the charts this season — look no further than the Aes Sedai smackdown in episode 1 for proof. — B.E.

Starring: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Dónal Finn, Ceara Coveney, Kate Fleetwood, Natasha O’Keeffe, Ayoola Smart, Kae Alexander, Laia Costa, Olivia Williams, Luke Fetherston, Callum Kerr, and Nuno Lopes

How to watch: The Wheel of Time Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video, with a new episode every week.

2. O'Dessa

Patti Cake$ writer/director Geremy Jasper returns with a rock opera that was one of our most anticipated premieres out of SXSW, thanks to a propulsive soundtrack, trippy aesthetic, and moving tale of resistance and romance. 

Stranger Things' Sadie Sink stars as O’Dessa, a rambler who has a song in her heart and a destiny in her blood. In a dystopian world, a narcissistic dictator (Murray Batlett) numbs the population into poverty through an endless barrage of TV broadcasts. It's up to O'Dessa to bring her music to the masses and open their hearts and minds. Along the way, Jasper drenches his audience in an enchanting musical soundscape with visuals gorgeous and strange, making for a movie musical that feels familiar yet thrillingly fresh. — K.P.

Starring: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, and Pokey LaFarge

How to watch: O'Dessa is now streaming on Hulu.

1. Adolescence

This is surely going to be one of the TV shows of the year. Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne's four-part mini-series, directed by Boiling Point collaborator Philip Barantini, uses a unique format to tell the story of a family torn apart after their 13-year-old son Jamie (Owen Cooper) is accused of murder. Each episode is filmed in one shot, a device that unfolds the story in unflinching and uncomfortable real time. The performances are stunning across the board and the writing delves into a difficult but timely subject matter. Memorable and harrowing. — S.H.

Starring: Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty, Owen Cooper, Faye Marsay, Christine Tremarco, Amelie Pease

How to watch: Adolescence is now streaming on Netflix.

* denotes that this blurb appeared in a previous Mashable list.

Bitcoin 2025 predictions: Will BTC go to the moon?

Mashable - 12 hours 33 min ago

Bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, has had a big year. In 2024, it broke new ground, reaching and surpassing the price of $100,000 per 1 BTC for the first time.

But it's a very interesting moment for crypto investors right now. President Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time in January, bringing with him the most crypto-friendly administration the U.S. has ever seen. He preluded that with the launch of a new $TRUMP meme coin, likely making millions in the process. Macroeconomic indicators are all over the place, and the global geopolitical situation hasn't been this messy since the Cold War era.

Large entities such as corporations and nation-states have been buying bitcoins en masse, but in recent months, they've been more eager to sell than buy. The U.S. government will no longer sell its stash thanks to Trump's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve initiative. To complicate things further, arcane technologies, such as quantum computing, are threatening to unravel Bitcoin's very foundation — though no one's sure when that may happen or if it will happen at all.

All of that leaves Bitcoin in a precarious place. Ask 10 experts where its price may go, and you'll get 10 vastly different answers, likely ranging from zero to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The thing to do, then, is to calmly and carefully consider the most critical factors that influence Bitcoin before making any investment decisions.

Disclaimer: We're not here to provide an investment thesis or investment advice. This is an overview of Bitcoin's progress and some of the major risks and tailwinds that may define its future.

We've consulted cryptocurrency experts on the matter. At Mashable, we've covered Bitcoin since at least 2017, and we've seen some massive crashes, impressive price rises, community splits, and technology changes and challenges. Now that Bitcoin is seemingly on a downward trajectory, at roughly $82,000 per coin, it's time to do a thorough check-up on the orange coin once again.

Bitcoin's biggest milestone: Hitting $100,000

How did this happen? Bitcoin started out as an experiment by its elusive, pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, who unleashed it onto the world and disappeared shortly after. It was first embraced by a few enthusiasts, such as Hal Finney, whose interests were at a cross-section of cryptography and finance.

For Bitcoin to succeed and become secure, bitcoins must become vastly more expensive. - Hal Finney

For years, Bitcoin was almost a joke, with proponents seemingly waiting forever for it to become the peer-to-peer digital cash that Nakamoto envisioned. But the price kept rising, and though Bitcoin was never widely adopted as a means of payment, it became something else: a decentralized version of digital gold that feeds on computing power to keep its transactional network secure.

It took a few years for people to start paying attention: In May 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz famously spent 10,000 BTC on two pizzas; had he kept the bitcoins, they would be worth billions now. Hanyecz is annually reminded of this on May 22, when bitcoiners celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day.

By 2024, Bitcoin had essentially become widely legitimized as something that has value and should be taken very seriously. A key development in this was the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs. ETFs, or exchange traded funds, are investment funds that hold a certain asset or security, allowing anyone to get exposure to that asset (in this case Bitcoin) without having to deal with the intricacies of having a cryptocurrency wallet.

Spot Bitcoin ETF on-chain holdings in BTC. Credit: Mashable

These funds, which require BTC to actually be bought and held in custody for its clients, were huge, prompting heavyweights such as BlackRock and Fidelity to finally throw their marketing machines and financial heft behind Bitcoin. The ETFs were a stellar success, with billions pouring in on a weekly basis. As of now, spot Bitcoin ETFs hold a total of 1.13 million BTC, worth roughly $100 billion.

Add that to Michael Saylor's Microstrategy, a company with a somewhat inert software business that started buying bitcoins en masse in 2020 and now holds roughly 499,000 BTC worth $41 billion, and you not only have a race to earn more bitcoins but a real fear amongst cryptocurrency titans of being left behind with zero bitcoins while everyone else has some.

That, in very rough sketches, is how Bitcoin got from zero to $100,000 per Bitcoin in less than two decades, making it one of the most successful financial products of all time.

Where does Bitcoin stand now?

In January, it all seemed hunky dory for cryptocurrencies. Trump got inaugurated, and Bitcoin was breaking new highs at above $108,000 on Jan. 20. Then, the newly elected president started talking tariffs, U.S. stock indexes turned red, and crypto followed. Right now, BTC is trading at about $82,000 per coin.

And that was despite the unprecedented amount of good news for Bitcoin and crypto in general, including the formation of a Crypto Task Force and Trump's announcement of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in early March, which forbade the U.S. government to sell bitcoins it already owns while opening some avenues to acquire more.

This does not necessarily mean the bull market is over. Bitcoin has historically had large price corrections (yes, bigger than 30%) even during bull runs.

Is Bitcoin a legitimate investment?

The likelihood of any investment being "fraudulent" to some degree or at least risky is never zero. Companies you hold stock in can conceal losses with accounting schemes. Banks can debank you because of identity theft. Even if you invest in something as solid as real estate or commodities, things can go wrong. Ships sink. Trains get derailed. Tornadoes happen. Even if there's no fraud or catastrophic incident in your cards, sometimes prices just tank because of unforeseen events.

Bitcoin is no different: Things could go wrong, and they sometimes do.

That said, Bitcoin is as legit as it can be these days. It's been bought by the billions by the largest of U.S. investment companies. Some nation-states, such as El Salvador, have even opted in. Companies such as Microstrategy are piling up Bitcoin instead of cash, and it's no longer just for nerds with powerful computers — it hasn't been for a long time. Plus, the creation of the U.S. Bitcoin Reserve further solidified Bitcoin as a legitimate asset.

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CCData Research Lead, Joshua de Vos, says Bitcoin passing the "psychological" $100,000 mark was an incredibly important milestone. "This price movement is closely tied to growing optimism surrounding the incoming administration and expectations of greater regulatory clarity and state-backed support for Bitcoin," he told Mashable in a statement.

"This initiative could position Bitcoin as a national asset, further legitimizing its role as a store of value and helping to further diversify government holdings."

Yes, a catastrophic error could still be found in Bitcoin's software, but the odds of that, given that Bitcoin has been running for 16 years and counting with well over a trillion dollars on the line, are extremely small. Quantum computers may one day be able to crack Bitcoin's encryption, but if you trust Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, decades will pass before "very useful" quantum computers arrive.

President of OKX exchange Hong Fang is optimistic about Bitcoin's longterm prospects, though he also warns of possible "black swan" events that could influence Bitcoin's price. In particular, he worries about the risks of too much Bitcoin being held by individual entities, which is a byproduct of the increasing institutional adoption of Bitcoin. “Where there is concentration, there are risks,” says de Vos.

As it gains legitimacy, Bitcoin is getting less volatile, but the price of 1 BTC can still gain or lose double digits in a day. Gold as an investment has been around for thousands of years; Bitcoin hasn't even turned 20.

Bitcoin in 2025: Macro worries and hopes

This is where it gets tricky. Bitcoin is no longer a countertrade against the entire financial system, it is now a part of that system, and it's owned by the billions by entities who follow traditional investing rules such as going risk off when U.S. bond yields surge. Bitcoin may be called digital gold, but it still often behaves like a risk asset (such as company stock).

Hence, Bitcoin is and will be affected, perhaps increasingly so, by big movements in traditional markets, which in turn are affected by macroeconomic trends. A strong U.S. dollar, for example, might push prices of stocks and Bitcoin down.

The vast majority of us, however, aren't macro experts. Observing larger trends and keeping tabs on what may be lurking behind the horizon is all right, but few can really predict whether the U.S. dollar or bond yields will go up or down in a year's time, including us. Instead, check out the work done by research firm Dalbar, which proves year after year that most investors underperform a simple index fund.

In other words, trying to predict Bitcoin's price based on tracking macroeconomic trends is probably futile.

How are meme coins impacting Bitcoin?

Coins come and go. Granted, $TRUMP was a big one, rising to a fully diluted valuation of about $83 billion within hours and sucking out liquidity from the entire crypto market in the process. But if you zoom out, Bitcoin barely blinked.

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There will be other meme coins, and we'll probably see many other high-profile people, as well as organizations and perhaps even nation-states, following up. It can affect Bitcoin's price short-term, but we've seen such shenanigans before, and Bitcoin came through just fine.

In a recent statement, the U.S. SEC said that meme coins aren't securities.

"Meme coins typically are purchased for entertainment, social interaction, and cultural purposes, and their value is driven primarily by market demand and speculation," the regulator said in a statement. "In this regard, meme coins are akin to collectibles. Meme coins also typically have limited or no functionality.

"Given the speculative nature of meme coins, they tend to experience significant market price volatility and often are accompanied by statements regarding their risks and lack of utility, other than for entertainment or other nonfunctional purposes," the regulator said.

Alts, or altcoins (typically defined as all cryptocurrencies that aren't Bitcoin) generally do trade in lockstep with Bitcoin. But Bitcoin has its own thing going on and is getting more impervious to movements in the crypto markets. This is partially because a big chunk of its supply is now owned by ETFs and large investors, who don't sway as easy as the newbie who bought yesterday but is now thinking about dumping it all in favor of an alt.

However, if Bitcoin is doing well, alts typically do well, too. As former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao recently put it, "What's good for bitcoin is good for alts."

Where do crypto legends think the price of Bitcoin will go?

Bitcoin is still a teenager, but it feels like it's been around for an eternity, mostly because something new happens to it or around it every day.

With continued adoption amplified by macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, short-term sentiments, and market speculations, I expect Bitcoin's price to stay volatile with a general upward trend in the next 12 months, going as low as $70k or as high as $150k. But over the next 3-4 years, I see a good chance to realize a $400-$500k price range for the ‘digital gold.’ - Hong Fang, OKX president, in a statement to Mashable

There are people who were there from the very beginning — technologists who dabbled with the technical side, enthusiasts who just liked the idea, as well as investors who recognized the potential early. What do they say about Bitcoin's prospects going forward?

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Legendary crypto investor and podcaster Cobie often comments with tongue-in-cheek remarks. But he seems to be very bullish on Bitcoin, as he expects it to continue making new all-time highs in rapid succession at some point in the near future.

Another legendary investor who tweets very sparingly these days, pseudonymous crypto trader GCR (short for GiganticRebirth), still thinks Bitcoin will ultimately have a larger market cap than gold (that's currently estimated at around $18.3 trillion, while BTC's market cap is a little over $2 trillion).

I don't believe bitcoin tops until it flips gold, and will likely be long bitcoin for the rest of my life. - GiganticRebirth

He does, however, warn that the time to get really greedy has passed and that investors should be more careful as we approach bull market peak.

From the other side of the stadium comes Peter Schiff, who's vocal about his disdain for Bitcoin. According to him, a strategic Bitcoin reserve would lead to "higher inflation and a weaker economy" in the U.S.

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Like many high-profile executives of the traditional finance world, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink took his time warming up to Bitcoin. These days, however, he thinks it's an "alternative" to gold.

Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz was an early investor in Bitcoin. He claims that Bitcoin reaching the price of $100,000 per coin is a "milestone that represents more than price."

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"It’s proof of adoption, belief, and a community that has carried this revolution from 0 to 100. With world leaders leaning in and a generational wealth shift underway, this is just the beginning," he tweeted.

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Finally, if you want to get poetic, perhaps it's best to quote one of the most fanatical proponents of Bitcoin, Michael Saylor. As he puts it, "#Bitcoin is a swarm of cyber hornets serving the goddess of wisdom, feeding on the fire of truth, exponentially growing ever smarter, faster, and stronger behind a wall of encrypted energy."

How to watch Cavalier vs. Inter Miami online for free

Mashable - 12 hours 53 min ago

TL;DR: Live stream Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free on YouTube. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The last spots in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarter finals are up for grabs as Cavalier take on Inter Miami. Lionel Messi and co won the first leg 2-0, and will be confident of securing a safe passage into the next round in Kingston.

If you want to watch Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Cavalier vs. Inter Miami?

Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on March 13. This fixture takes place at the National Stadium.

How to watch Cavalier vs. Inter Miami for free

Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup is available to live stream for free on YouTube.

This free live stream is available in most locations around the world, but not in North or Central America. Fortunately, fans in these excluded territories can still access this free live stream with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK (or somewhere else with access), meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Concacaf Champions Cup from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Cavalier vs. Inter Miami by following these simple steps:

  1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly 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 the UK (or somewhere else with access)

  4. Visit YouTube

  5. Live stream Cavalier vs. Inter Miami for free

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 streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Concacaf Champions Cup fixtures before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for YouTube?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on YouTube, for a number of reasons:

  • Servers in 105 countries including the UK

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

  • Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

  • Fast connection 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.

Live stream Cavalier vs. Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

Samsung’s ridiculous Buzzer Beater Bundle is over $5,000 off — because one TV isn’t enough for March Madness

Mashable - 13 hours 10 min ago

SAVE OVER $5,000: As of March 13, the Samsung Buzzer Beater Bundle is available for $10,307.42 at Samsung — down from its usual $16,199.92 price. That's a 36% discount for an eight-TV setup built for March Madness.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Buzzer Beater Bundle $10,307.42 at Samsung
$16,199.92 Save $5,892.50 Get Deal

If you’re serious about college basketball, a single TV just won’t cut it. March Madness is pure chaos, with eight networks streaming games simultaneously. You either miss out or constantly flip channels like a maniac. Enter Samsung’s Buzzer Beater Bundle, a ridiculous eight-TV setup that ensures you catch every buzzer-beater, dunk, and controversial foul call.

Right now, Samsung has slashed the price by $5,892, making this a tempting splurge.

SEE ALSO: Grab the productivity powerhouse Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge for nearly $200 off

You're not just getting eight random screens — this setup is stacked with top-tier Samsung displays, including:

  • 98-inch Class Crystal UHD 4K TV (DU9000): A massive 4K screen with Supersize Picture Enhancer to keep things crisp, even at nearly 100 inches.

  • 65-inch Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV (QN900D): AI-powered 8K upscaling and Motion Enhancer Pro make this the ultimate main screen for game-day action.

  • Three 65-inch Samsung Neo QLED 4K TVs (QN85D): Crisp 4K resolution, deep contrast, and motion smoothing for fast breaks that look smooth.

  • Three 55-inch Samsung QLED 4K TVs (Q70D): Vibrant color and deep contrast to ensure you don’t miss a single detail—yes, even that questionable three-pointer.

This bundle isn’t just about the TVs. Samsung is throwing in free simple installation (or 50% off complex setups), a Samsung Care+ two-year plan, and VIP Advantage perks like reward points for future purchases. You’re getting a VIP experience along with your courtside-at-home setup.

How Generative A.I. Complements the MAGA Style

NYT Technology - 13 hours 30 min ago
Online Trump supporters have embraced a unique form of irony that is hard to parse — and easy to deploy with new technologies.

The Roborock Saros 10R aces one thing that most other robot vacuums cant

Mashable - 13 hours 33 min ago

The robot vacuum with a grabby arm from Roborock's showing at CES 2025 has been hogging all of the attention, but that one wasn't the new Roborock vacuum that I wanted to test the most.

Though I'll still get my hands on the Roborock Saros Z70 at some point, I was personally more interested in the Roborock Saros 10R: a way more practical robot vacuum from the 2025 fleet that still goes hard on premium upgrades.

What's special about the Roborock Saros 10R?

As Roborock's thinnest robot vacuum ever, the Roborock Saros 10R may not seem like it has room for a big navigational tech upgrade — or Roborock's second-most powerful suction power yet. But somehow, both of those are packed into a body that's barely more than three inches tall.

The Saros 10R clocks 20,000 Pa of suction power, only to be beaten by its sibling, the Saros 10's 22,000 Pa. Still, 20,000 Pa is a level that very few other robot vacs in the market even come close to. To put it in perspective, that's double the whoosh of my favorite robot vacuum from 2024, the Roborock Qrevo Master.

The other main grab here applies to how perceptive the vac is as it's maneuvering around your home. Compared to the typical LiDAR system, the Saros 10R axes the circular laser tower atop most robot vacs you're probably picturing. Instead, the Saros 10R is able to have that thin, flat top design due to its implementation of StarSight 2.0 with 3D ToF (Time of Flight) technology. That's some fancy NASA-coded terminology for a more precise sense of location within your walls and more precise detection of small objects.

The sticky crevice under the fridge is a horrifying place that most taller robot vacuums can't reach. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Rather than just relying on laser sensors as traditional LiDAR does, StarSight takes it a step further with 3D scanning of 21,600 sensor points around the room. With that, the Saros 10R can sniff out upwards of 108 different objects (that's up from the 73 objects that the first version of Starsight could detect). With the upgrade to the 2.0 version also comes Vertibeam Lateral Obstacle Avoidance to aid in delicately cleaning around irregular walls and furniture.

Now, this isn't the first time we've seen StarSight 2.0 — the 2024 Roborock Qrevo Slim also uses it. But the Qrevo Slim's 11,000 Pa of suction power pales in comparison to the Saros 10R's 20,000 Pa. Another Saros model, the Saros Z70, also has StarSight 2.0 technology, but it's expected to cost around $2,000 when it finally comes out. So impressively, the Saros 10R is the only StarSight model that hits 20,000 Pa without hitting the $2,000 price point.

Also, a little commotion for the Saros 10R's chic dock, please.

Robot vacuum for me, full length mirror for Leota. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

After years of testing robot vacuums that basically strictly exist in plasticky black or plasticky white designs, this dock's sleek mirrored face with rounded corners is a welcomed glow-up. (The fingerprints it easily attracts? Slightly less chic.) I still fully stand by my formal plea for robot vacuums to start coming in chrome gray to match stainless steel kitchen appliances, but I digress — the Roborock Saros 10R is a self-emptying dock you won't mind sitting out in your living room. At 19 inches tall x 15 inches wide x 12 inches deep, it's also on the compact side — it's smaller than Dreame X50 Ultra and Roborock Qrevo Master's docks.

Cleaning performance: Mopping and corner cleaning are the standouts

I want to talk about the 20,000 Pa of suction power first. On paper, that's the strongest robot vacuum I've had under my roof to date — incredible news for a person with barefoot standards as high as mine.

The suction power bump was most palpable when simply taking care of everyday debris that keeps me up at night if not cleaned: crumbs and rogue pieces of shredded cheese near the kitchen counter, kibble near the cat food bowls, kitty litter spread in a two-foot radius around both litter boxes, and strands of long hair everywhere. I sent the Saros 10R to tidy all of this on a daily basis (occasionally twice a day) and was almost always welcomed back into a pretty spotless room. The cleaning was incredibly consistent on dry debris of various sizes and textures, and I wasn't constantly feeling like using the robot vacuum was just a Band-Aid until I had time to actually go in with my trusty Dyson V12 Detect Slim.

Speaking of my Dyson, I will use its green laser to prove a point about the Saros 10R's competency on kitty litter (or any other small, crunchy remnants that will probably pop up in most people's homes).

Before and after running the Saros 10R around the litter box Dusty litter isn't super visible to the naked eye, but you notice when you step on it. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable Nothing gets past the Dyson's laser. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Coverage on rugs was slightly more hit-or-miss than on hardwood or tile. The Saros 10R had about a 90 percent pickup rate on my medium-pile rugs, taking care of spilled chip crumbs and full Goldfish crackers, layers of shedding from my two cats, and long hair that I pulled directly out of my brush and threw on the floor (for science).

Smashing potato chips on purpose is one of the saddest parts of this job. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable I was kind of surprised that whole Goldfish were successfully picked up. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Unfortunately, the pickup percentage dwindled a bit on lower pile rugs. My cats sunbathe on the one in my room on a daily basis, so it's usually covered in a layer of cat hair not super visible unless you look at the bottom of your socks. One surefire way I can see how well a robot vacuum is doing on pet hair is to use my Shark PowerDetect stick vacuum afterward. The key here is that that Shark self-empties its dustbin into a larger dock each time I hang it back up, which means it's always starting with a completely empty, clear dustbin — and that means I can quickly pinpoint just how much gunk is being sucked up during the cleaning session at hand.

Maybe it's just wise to have the Saros 10R always do a double lap on pet hair. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable This image is my sleep paralysis demon. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

That Shark's dustbin should just not be that full after a robot vacuum dished out 20,000 Pa of suction power across it. Granted, I will say that I also did the Shark test on that gray rug a few paragraphs up, and the Saros 10R had clearly done a much more thorough job there. Higher pile is typically the trickier length for robot vacuums to comb through, but oddly enough, it seems backwards for the Saros 10R — I'm not sure if that has something to do with the side-by-side brushrolls versus the typically parallel ones or what.

This edge cleaning absolutely eats

I will say, though, that I'm not super mad about the mediocrity on low pile rugs because of how the Saros 10R aced one problem area that robot vacs always seem to struggle with: corner cleaning. Aside from heightened suction power all around, that level of detail in right angles and along edges can likely be attributed to both the flexible corner arms and upgraded StarSight that allows the bot to better assess walls, furniture, objects, and how close it can get to them.

More impressively, the close corner cleaning also applies to mopping. Robot mops that only have one large, mostly stationary singular pad just don't have much range of motion, whereas the side-by-side spinning mopping pads on the Saros 10R do. One swings on a hinge and extends out from under the robot vacuum to hit edges and 90-degree angles that a circular vacuum would fumble otherwise.

SEE ALSO: Dyson's cheapest laser vacuum made me feel bad about my dirty floors...in a good way

This is another crucial factor for the picky barefoot crowd who need to know a floor is actually being scrubbed from multiple angles. In my experience, the dual spinning design just provides more versatile physical agitation to thoroughly scrub at stains or wipe up stickiness — the big singular pad just feels like a glorified once-over with a washcloth.

I had no complaints about the Saros 10R's mopping performance on thin consistences like wine and soy sauce spills. Thicker drops like ranch and marinara sauce did risk getting pushed around before the Saros 10R had a chance to return to the dock to wash the pads, but overall, remnants weren't really left behind. Syrup was a struggle — the area around the original syrup incident was slightly sticky and smelled like syrup before I cleaned it by hand. Two cleaning passes are probably necessary for thicker, peskier spills like that.

The closeness of that mop to the table leg is just chef's kiss. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Automated mopping with actually good edge mopping has really come in handy for random droplets under the kitchen counter and for the upkeep of our front door situation. Usually, there are two stools plus a million pairs of shoes piled up under this island, and the whole area is just constantly covered in footprints, little rocks, hair, and other stuff like that. It's been nice to simply push everything out of the way, let the Saros 10R get all up in there, and then put everything back. It was particularly delicious to watch the Saros 10R successfully lap up the visible dust, crumbs, and hair that gather under that edge that a stick vacuum is too thick to reach.

But I think my favorite example of the Saros 10R's cleaning exhaustiveness comes when it has to vacuum and mop at the same time — for certain messes, that'll only go well if both parts are doing their job well. For instance, I decided to re-pot a snake plant (IDK what I did to kill it, don't come for me) in the middle of my living room. I made an absolute mess of moist potting soil on the hardwood, then sent the Saros 10R to vacuum and mop it at the same time. Just vacuuming would still leave a brown dusty film that isn't really the consistency to be sucked up, but just mopping would just turn that dirt into mud.

Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

I was seriously impressed at how spotless that area was after the Saros 10R came through. I did send it for two passes because I assumed it'd miss some pieces the first time. The second trip covered any lingering pieces on the outskirts of the zone, with the mopping pads coming through and eliminating that brown dusty film. A cheap Roomba trying to tackle a pile of dirt would literally just make the mess bigger.

Navigation: Gets to the right spot without question

The few minutes that it took to unbox and set up the Saros 10R took longer than the Saros 10R did to complete its first mapping run of my apartment. That speediness didn't dog its accuracy — a majority of its room designations were correct, complete with notches already marked for large obstacles like turns in the wall or big pieces of furniture. All I had to do was drag some lines to split the very open-concept kitchen, living room, and entryway up. (The fact that the app has a room limit is weird, but OK.)

The Saros 10R knows where it sits in my living room, and correctly identified the cat tree in the corner. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The Saros 10R correctly identified shoes, a dresser, a bed, and a live cat. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

During over a month of testing and use multiple times a day, the Saros 10R literally never got lost. I was almost always either doing a specific room or zone cleaning (rather than letting a full home cleaning rip), and I never had to give a second thought to whether it'd make it to the right spot, whether it'd actually cover the entire selected area, or whether it'd take extra long going on side missions that I didn't assign.

There wasn't really any getting stuck, either. The Saros 10R carefully weaved in and out of various table and chair legs, around cat food and water bowls, and under a bed with a chaotic storage situation underneath. My bathroom layout is a little tight, with a toilet, a litter box, and an egg-shaped hamper, and many robot vacuums give up instead of cleaning in between all of that stuff. The Saros 10R carved around all of them safely, even picking up most hairs and kitty litter by the wall.

Thank you for not getting stuck on my bath mats every damn time. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Past smart mapping, small obstacle avoidance is the other factor playing into a robot vacuum's navigation. It's definitely a crucial feature to have if there are cords or other random crap on the floor from time to time. While the Saros 10R's track record was good in my apartment, there were still some blips on small cat toys, one charger, and wiry string lights dangling on the floor. I don't expect perfection even from a top Roomba (my most trusted small obstacle avoidance tech), but I'm not sure that the whole StarSight upgrade is any more accurate than traditional LiDAR.

User-friendliness: A relatively quiet, pet-friendly addition to your home

Volume during cleaning obviously varies based on the suction level, which gets up to 68 decibels on max. I was impressed by how unobtrusive the automatic emptying whoosh is — around 73 decibels, which is a similar level to the rumble of a washing machine. It's much more muffled than I'm used to and does not scare the shit out of me every time.

If you have pets, the Saros 10R's livestream pet camera is yet another feature that helps this vacuum blend in with your home life. Like some older flagship Roborocks, the camera tab in the app allows you to see whatever the robot sees as it's driving, including an option to "search for the pet."

The paparazzi will not leave Sansa alone. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Is it a completely necessary feature? Probably not. But if you're a pet parent and you say you wouldn't use this, you're lying. A ton of people have standalone security cameras to keep tabs on their pets when they're not home, so adding that pet sitter-like feature to an appliance that's already roving your house is actually pretty practical.

Maintenance: Hands-off and competent, as expected

As expected from any top robot vacuum brand's premium models nowadays, the Saros 10R comes with a full self-cleaning dock that includes automatic dustbin emptying and automatic mopping pad washing and heated drying, as well as water tank refilling.

I personally find the autonomous mopping pad maintenance system to be so worth it if you, well, actually want to use the mop on a regular basis. When testing mopping robot vacuums that don't have the auto wash and dry system, I found myself not using mopping mode simply because I didn't feel like dealing with washing a soggy mopping pad every day. The Saros 10R made that part super easy and, as with most self-cleaning docks, also maintained its mops during mopping by returning to rinse them mid-clean.

Just pull the tank out of the dock, fill it up, and click it back in. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

One tiny thing I've noticed is that it feels like the clean water tank is always empty or the dirty water tank is always full. The tanks are definitely smaller than others in self-cleaning docks that I've seen, probably to keep the dock compact. Granted, I do send the Saros 10R out to mop a lot — my large 22-foot x 10-foot hardwood kitchen gets mopped almost every day, and my tile bathroom and the apartment entryway get it about every other day. The red light to refill the clean water tank comes on once every few days. Though it's more often than most of the robot vacs I've tested in the past, it's not outlandish. Plus, the dirty water is pretty damn gross every time I dump it, and that's just proof that the vac's scrubbing thoroughly. And when a robot mop is so reliable that building it into a daily routine becomes a reflex, more frequent refilling just comes with the territory.

When it comes to maintaining the brush roll, the Saros 10R doesn't really require regular upkeep of tangled hair. This is thanks to its side-by-side DuoDivide brush rolls that spin independently and pull hair toward the middle and up into the dustbin. After about two weeks of using the Saros 10R every day, I got my scissors out, expecting to need to cut some wrapped hairballs out of the bottom. To my surprise, next to no hair was wrapped around, marking the first robot vacuum I've ever tried that actually follows through on its "anti-tangle" claims.

Not a wrapped strand in sight after two weeks of daily cleaning. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable Downsides: A few quirks for being so expensive

The Roborock Saros 10R is one of the most expensive robot vacuums on the market in 2025. It is the norm for a brand's high-enders to near or topple the $1,500 price point, and the Saros 10R is quite advanced. Still, many people would probably laugh out loud at the thought of spending that much on a vacuum.

But FWIW, the $1,599.99 is actually quite modest when you consider that Roborock's most expensive flagship from 2024, the S8 MaxV Ultra, also debuted at $1,599.99. That vacuum only has 8,000 Pa of suction power (compared to 20,000) and obviously doesn't use the upgraded obstacle avoidance system that the Saros 10R does, yet debuted at the same price. So the Saros 10R gets credit there.

However, the argument could be made that a robot vacuum this expensive should operate pretty much perfectly, and the Saros 10R doesn't. Firstly, though the whole StarSight thing was supposed to be a big selling point, I'm not sure if it's necessarily better than other small obstacle avoidance tech out there, like Roborock's Reactive AI or iRobot's camera-based PrecisionVision navigation. My Saros 10R did run over some cat toys and a white phone charger once (granted, it was kind of blending in with a rug with white swirls) and completely ate a wiry string of twinkle lights. Even the smartest botvacs are bound to slip up every once in a while, but still.

SEE ALSO: As a Dyson stan, I wouldn't tell anyone to buy the Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum

The clean water tank draining and the dirty water tank filling "quickly" can't even fully be classified as a downside, in my opinion, because I do think it's a testament to how often I'm opting to have this thing mop. For the price, I do think the Saros 10R should automatically dispense detergent into the clean water tank from inside the dock.

It's also possible that the water runs out so often because the Saros 10R takes forever to mop. Surely it's expending more water than necessary. It's not typically an issue unless I'm in a hurry for whatever reason, but sometimes, I'm like, "PLEASE be done soon."

One other minor thing about the dock is that the auto-empty suction doesn't always "work" the whole way. I frequently see a dust bunny hanging out the back of the robot vacuum itself where it connects to the dock. That's not a huge deal.

And while I don't expect every dock to be front accessible so that the top can be used like a side table (like the Roomba Combo Max 10), I do like when the water buckets are flat so that I can at least set decor on them that can be moved when the tanks need to be refilled.

The competition

Overall, it just makes the most sense to simply pit the Saros 10R against other robot vacuums in the same price range. The main competitor is the Roborock Saros 10 (no R), named nearly identically for reasons unbeknownst to man. (Roborock did the same thing with the million Qrevo models from last year.) While the Saros 10 does squeeze out 2,000 Pa more suction power than the 10R, that's a negligible difference when you're already at 20,000. The mopping pad setup would be my main deciding factor, as I've witnessed more thorough results from a dual spinning pad design (like the 10R's) over the outdated, singular D-shaped pad (like the Saros 10's) that can't really scootch out from under the vacuum into corners. I'll keep you posted on whether the regular Saros 10's Reactive AI obstacle avoidance is any better or worse than the 10R's StarSight.

SEE ALSO: Why Eufy's X10 Pro Omni is the most surprising robot vacuum I've tested all year

For a cheaper-but-still-top-notch Roborock pick, I still think the Qrevo Master would be excellent in most households. Though it has half the suction power as the Saros 10R, its 10,000 Pa still fared well in my apartment. It has the same spinning mopping pads, self-cleaning dock, and pet camera, and is frequently on sale for as low as $899.99.

The other Saros model dropped at CES 2025 was the Z70, but the difference between the Saros 10R and the Saros Z70 is easier to spot: one has an arm, and one doesn't. While it sounds cool upon first read, the Saros Z70's practicality dwindles quickly when you learn that it'll probably cost around $2,000 for cleaning capabilities not much more powerful than the 10R. The Saros 10R certainly isn't about to be running over little items any more than the Z10 is — it just won't be putting them in a nearby basket. In the words of my fellow Senior Shopping Reporter Haley Henschel, if you can afford a $2,000 robot vacuum with an arm, "why not just hire a maid?"

SEE ALSO: Top 3 best robot vacuums from CES 2025, from coolest to most practical

In terms of non-Roborock models, iRobot's best fighter would be the Roomba Combo 10 Max. It's the only Roomba that washes and dries its mopping pads and refills its own water tank, and could be a good bit more affordable than the Saros 10R if you can find it on sale for $899 or $999. While I'm slightly more confident in iRobot's obstacle avoidance, the Combo 10 Max kept missing debris along edges and in corners of my apartment. It also uses a singular flat mop pad that doesn't cover a lot of ground on one pass.

The Saros 10R's biggest competition from the class of CES 2025 is the $1,699.99 Dreame X50 Ultra, whose claim to fame is climbing — over small obstacles and thresholds, not up and down stairs. Like my take on the robotic arm thing, I personally don't care about these fancier physical methods of avoiding obstacles as long as nothing is being eaten. Despite matching 20,000 Pa suction power, the X50 Ultra I'm testing has left some rolled-up hairballs and fuzzies on more of my rugs than the 10R has. It also has a plasticky build and a not-so-compact dock.

Is the Roborock Saros 10R worth it?

When it costs $1,600, a botvac like the Roborock Saros 10R should be completing damn near every single task flawlessly. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it does.

But I still think the Saros 10R is a wickedly well-rounded robot vacuum that would be a totally satisfactory upgrade in a lot of homes, especially ones with a lot of hard floors. Its suction power and mopping work together in tandem to achieve results more reliable than what I've ever experienced, even if its work on low pile rugs hasn't been as exceptional as I'd expect for a premium vac. If you've been frustrated specifically with corner cleaning, scrubbing, or low-clearance furniture with other vacuums, I'd say the Saros 10R will piss you off way less.

But would I wait for the verdict on the other blockbuster CES 2025 robot vacuums, or the verdict on one of the fancier Roombas that were just announced. If you still decide to go for the Saros 10R, that'll at least give you time to wait for a sale.

Opens in a new window Credit: Roborock Roborock Saros 10R $1,599.99 at Roborock
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