Mashable

From Oura to Whoop, we tested the best sleep trackers of 2026

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:05:29 +0000

Sleep trackers — wearable devices that monitor all your vitals — provide detailed summaries of your sleep cycle so you know how many hours of REM, deep, and light sleep you're getting. Most fitness trackers come equipped with sleep tracking these days, but choosing the best from that bunch is not as straightforward. These days, sleep trackers come in all shapes and sizes, and fortunately, our experts here at Mashable have tested them all.

So if the magnesium supplements and pillow sprays in your sleepmaxxing routine aren't working, here are the best sleep trackers of 2026.

Oura Ring update

The Oura Ring got an update in 2026. On May 28, the brand released the Oura Ring 5, a 40 percent smaller smart ring with some improved tech. We are in the process of testing the Oura Ring 5, so the Oura Ring 4 is still included in this list until we complete our testing.

Shop for a new mattress during 4th of July sales when you can take up to 60% off

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:11:41 +0000

Best 4th of July mattress and bedding deals at a glance:

Best mattress deal

Bear Original Hybrid Mattress (queen)

$834.60 (save $449.40)

Best bedding deal

Brooklinen Classic Percale Hardcore Sheet Bundle (queen)

$352.87 (save $154.13)

Summer is a tough time to get sleep. The sun rises earlier, sets later, and it's hot. All of that on top of a schedule filled with trips, summer camps, and backyard gatherings is a recipe for a season of bad sleep. If you're not interested in sacrificing sleep this summer, the 4th of July is one of the best times to make bedroom upgrades.

Much like Memorial Day, mattresses and bedding essentials like sheets and pillows tend to see exceptional discounts around the 4th of July holiday. That's great news for keeping high-quality sleep a priority over the summer. Here are some of our favorite 4th of July mattress and bedding deals if you're in need of a refresh.

Best mattress deal

Credit: Bear

Bear Original Hyrbid Mattress (queen)

$834.60 at Bear
$1,284 Save $449.40

Why we like it

By now you've probably heard that a hybrid mattress offers the comfort of an all-foam bed with the support of a coil mattress. The only problem is that hybrid mattresses tend to be expensive. That's not the case today thanks to the Bear 4th of July sale. The new Bear Original Hybrid is on sale for only $834.60 in a queen size, down from the normal price of $1,284.

Bear mentions that this mattress is ideal for those who like a medium-firm bed that can help regulate hot summer temps. It can also be nice for those who deal with joint pain, or side sleepers who struggle with pressure points while sleeping.

Bear has a 120-night sleep trial, so you can try out the bed at home for four months while still being eligible for a return if you don't love it.

More mattress deals

Avocado: Save up to 15% on organic mattresses
Brooklyn Bedding: Take to 30% off sitewide
DreamCloud: Save up to 60% on mattresses and 66% on bundles
Eight Sleep: Take up to $500 off Pods and accessories
Tuft & Needle: Save 25% on all bundles
Purple: Take up to $800 a mattress and base
Saatva: Take up to $650 off mattresses or ip to $750 off bundles
Zinus: Take up to 60% off plus an additional 20%

Best bedding deal

Credit: Brooklinen

Brooklinen Classic Percale Hardcore Sheet Bundle (queen)

$352.87 at Brooklinen
$507 Save $154.13

Why we like it

Brooklinen has become one of the most trusted brands for those who want comfortable but durable sheets. The brand's 4th of July sale takes 30% off sheet bundles like the Classic Percale Hardcore Sheet Bundle. Percale is the perfect material for summer since it's made of a breathable and natural cotton fiber. The bundle includes the classic percale core sheet set (fitted sheet, flat sheet, two pillowcases), the percale duvet cover, and two extra pillowcases. Plus, it comes in a great range of colorway and print options.

More bedding deals

Baloo: Save $30 on weighted throw blanket + cotton duvet cover bundle
Coyuchi: Take up to 40% off
Cozy Earth: Take 20% off bedding bundles
Ettitude: Take up to 25% off sitewide and up to 70% off final sale
Naturepedic: Take 20% off organic bedding + get a free muslin blanket
Silk & Snow: Take 20% off all sheets

The best Prime Day Fitbit deals are live now — Shop the Charge 6, Inspire 3, and more

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:10:50 +0000

The best Prime Day Fitbit deals at a glance:

Best deal overall

Fitbit Charge 6

$85.45 (save $74)

Best runner-up deal

Fitbit Versa 4

$124.45 (save $50)

Best budget deal

Fitbit Inspire 3

$66.45 (save $33.50)

Amazon's Prime Day sale is now in full swing and is set to end on June 26. That's not to say you have to rush to get your bargains but you don't want to miss out as deals go out of stock, something that often happens during these major shopping events.

If you're looking to improve your overall fitness and set personal goals (while also saving a few dollars), we recommend checking out the Prime Day deals on Fitbits right now. Some of the discounted Fitbits are currently available at all-time low prices, including the Charge 6.

Here are the best Prime Day Fitbit deals you can shop right now:

Best deal overall

Fitbit Charge 6

$85.45 at Amazon
$159.95 Save $74.50

Why we like it

The Fitbit Charge 6 isn't the newest Fitbit on the market, but it still has (almost) everything you'd need in a smart wearable. (I say almost because the Fitbit Charge 6 doesn't have an altimeter, but if you're not a trail runner, this probably isn't a deal breaker.)

The Charge 6 tracks your calories, steps, sleep, heart rate, and more. It also has built-in GPS, 40+ exercise modes, a seven-day battery life, and includes a three-month Google Health Premium (formerly Fitbit Premium) membership. Once the three months are up, you'll need to either cancel or renew for $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually.

Right now, you can get the Fitbit Charge 6 for $84.45 at Amazon. This is the lowest price we've tracked on this model since its release in 2023.

Runner-up deal

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Versa 4

$124.45
$199.95 Save $75.50

Why we like it

If you're willing to spend a little bit more, the Fitbit Versa 4 is on sale for $124.45. This isn't the lowest price we've seen (it was $104.96 in April 2024), but it's still a pretty good deal.

Unlike the Charge 6, the Versa 4 has an altimeter and Bluetooth wrist calling. So, if you're looking for a wearable that acts more like a smartwatch, the Versa 4 might be the better buy. That said, it doesn't have the more "serious" health sensor that the Charge 6 does (e.g., ECG and EDA).

The Versa 4 also comes with three months of Google Health Premium.

Best budget deal

Fitbit Inspire 3

$66.45 at Walmart
$89.95 Save $23.50

Why we like it

If you're just looking for something that's affordable and efficient, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is your best option at $66.45.

It's a no-frills fitness tracker that'll give you the basic features you need to stay on top of your health. It can track your heart rate, steps, and stress levels. (It also offers menstrual health tracking, which is nice.)

You'll also get 10 full days of battery life and, like the other models mentioned above, three free months of Google Health Premium.

The best Prime Day Fitbit deals are live now — Shop the Inspire 3, Charge 6, and more

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:51:55 +0000

The best Prime Day Fitbit deals at a glance:

Best deal overall

Fitbit Charge 6

$85.45 (save $74)

Best runner-up deal

Fitbit Versa 4

$124.45 (save $50)

Best budget deal

Fitbit Inspire 3

$66.45 (save $33.50)

Here are the best Prime Day Fitbit deals you can shop right now:

Best deal overall

Fitbit Charge 6

$85.45 at Amazon
$159.95 Save $74.50

Why we like it

Right now, you can get the Fitbit Charge 6 for $84.45 at Amazon. This is the lowest price we've tracked on this model since its release in 2023.

Runner-up deal

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Versa 4

$124.45
$199.95 Save $75.50

Why we like it

If you're willing to spend a little bit more, the Fitbit Versa 4 is on sale for $124.45. This isn't the lowest price we've seen (it was $104.96 in April 2024), but it's still a pretty good deal.

The Versa 4 also comes with three months of Google Health Premium.

Best budget deal

Fitbit Inspire 3

$66.45 at Walmart
$89.95 Save $23.50

Why we like it

If you're just looking for something that's affordable and efficient, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is your best option at $66.45.

You'll also get 10 full days of battery life and, like the other models mentioned above, three free months of Google Health Premium.

Midjourney is working on an full-body ultrasonic scanner. For real.

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:54:55 +0000

One of the popular ideas related to artificial intelligence is that it'll pave the way for vastly cheaper, advanced medical exams. A movie version of this is the home MRI-like machine, with the protagonist stepping inside it and getting a full body scan and an assessment within minutes (remember the healing med-bay in Elysium?).

Now, Midjourney, the company known primarily for its powerful AI image generation tech, is trying to turn that dream into reality with a new project: a full body, ultrasonic scanner.

Yes, we're talking an actual, full size, medical scanner, and it's so far removed from what Midjourney did so far, that in an introductory blog post, the company itself admitted the project is "a little weird and a little crazy, but also spectacular and filled with hope."

The Midjourney Scanner project is still in a fairly early stage. The company says it will work like this: You step onto a platform, which slowly submerges your body into water. A ring of underwater sensors send ultrasonic waves through your body, and create an image of everything that's happening inside it (the tech is related to how dolphins use echolocation to explore their surroundings underwater).

The entire process shouldn't take more than 60 seconds; which is a lot faster than a traditional MRI, which needs 60 to 90 minutes to perform a full body scan.

The machine takes the picture, the AI figures out what's what. Credit: Midjourney

The key — and this is where Midjourney's AI expertise comes in — is in the terabytes of data produced by the sensors every second of the scan. The company's post is a little short on the details, but it says the scanner will require immense computational power and AI smarts to turn the sound waves into images. When that's done, you'll get a very precise 3D map of your body — and a lot faster than an MRI.

Also, according to Crypto Briefing, Midjourney isn't going it alone; in 2025, the company signed a licensing agreement with Butterfly Network, a company that specializes in handheld ultrasonic scanners. Also notable is Midjourney's head of hardware Ahmad Abbas, who has previously worked on Vision Pro at Apple.

Midjourney says it's moving the project forward at the "maximum speed that’s physically possible." In practical terms, this means that the first Midjourney Spa with hot tubs, saunas, and Midjourney Scanners, should be opening "in the heart of San Francisco" in 2027. The idea is that you could enjoy the company's spa facilities as you would in any other spa, but you'd also effortlessly leave with a full scan of your body, and a "huge library of data about your health."

Welcome to the spa, enjoy your time here, and don't forget to pick up your scan. Credit: Midjourney

Before it can open a commercial spa like this, Midjourney will have to spend the next 12 months refining the algorithms and hardware, then building a "research spa," upgrading to a second-generation scanner, and getting FDA approval for the project. If all goes well, in 2028, Midjourney Spas could start opening in more cities, and that's also when the company hopes to upgrade to a third-generation scanner. "Gen3 is where it gets 'serious,' the silicon for this design will be completely custom and image quality and scan times will be night-and-day," the post says.

By 2031, Midjourney's goal is to have a fleet of over 50,000 scanners worldwide, with a total scanning capacity of a billion scans every month. It's a very ambitious goal for a company that hasn't produced any hardware so far, let alone medical hardware. Midjourney says it will document its journey (sorry) by publishing regular updates about the project; beyond that, Midjourney says there will be more "exciting projects" to show in the future.

Canopy introduces Sound Machine + Aroma, and its already helping me sleep better

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:34:54 +0000

Canopy is best known for its stylish small home gadgets, including its iconic humidifiers. On June 16, the brand announced a new product offering: The Sound Machine + Aroma. It's a 3-in-1 sleep device that combines sleep sounds, a night light, and aromatherapy diffusion.

The Canopy Sound Machine + Aroma retails for $69 and comes in white, moonstruck, cream, lavender, and jade.

Canopy Sound Machine + Aroma specs and settings

Sleep sounds: 15, including white noise, brown noise, ocean waves, and rain
Volume levels: 10
Battery life: 15 hours
Night light colors: Red, white
Aroma levels: 2
Timers: 30, 60, 90 minutes

Choose red or white light to wind down for bed or keep the monsters away. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

Canopy Sound Machine + Aroma first impressions

I live in New York City, so you'd think my sleep is interrupted by loud noises all night, but I actually have the opposite problem. My street is incredibly quiet overnight, which means any time there is a noise — like my upstairs neighbors' creaking floorboards — I'm super aware of it. I can't sleep in dead quiet, so I've used different sound machines for years (my Echo Spot, and more recently the Babelio sound machine).

I've only used the Canopy Sound Machine + Aroma for four nights, but I can already tell it's going to earn a permanent spot on my nightstand. I prefer brown noise to white noise, and the Canopy's brown noise setting is perfect. Some of the programmed sounds are definitely geared toward babies, like shushing and lullabies, and I don't see myself ever using those. But there are enough white noise and nature soundscapes that I will use to justify the device's price.

I have a Vitruvi essential oil diffuser, which I love, but it's not the quietest while running. So I've been enjoying the absolutely silent aromatherapy from Canopy. I just squeeze a few drops of my lavender and peppermint oils, and the scents are diffused throughout the night.

The front of the device houses controls for power, light, aroma diffusion, timer, settings lock, sound selection, and volume. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

Open the back of the device to access the aromatherapy diffuser. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

I'm not a night light gal, but I do like to wind down the evening with soft, dim lighting. The red and white built-in lights are soothing and not at all too bright. You are able to adjust the brightness as well.

The 15-hour battery life means I get two nights' worth of use out of the Canopy Sound Machine + Aroma before having to recharge. I can also leave it on the charger overnight to avoid a lapse in my precious brown noise.

It's only been a few nights, but so far, I'm impressed. The Canopy Sound Machine + Aroma is stylish, portable, and packed with great sleep tools. I would absolutely spend my own money on this.

Credit: Canopy

Canopy Sound Machine + Aroma

$69 at Canopy

Fitbit Charge 6 plummets to lowest-ever price ahead of Prime Day

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 09:01:46 +0000

SAVE $60: As of June 12, the Fitbit Charge 6 is on sale at Amazon for $99.95, marking a return to its lowest-ever price at the retailer. Overall, this is $60 off its full price of $159.95.

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Charge 6

$99.95 at Amazon
$159.95 Save $60.00

Amazon Prime Day's next sale starts in just over a week on June 23, but there's already some exciting early deals available to shop. In the world of fitness trackers, Fitbits have been popping up with some excellent discounts at the retailer recently. This includes our favorite mid-range fitness tracker, the Fitbit Charge 6.

As of June 12, every available color of the Fitbit Charge 6 has been marked down to $99.95 at Amazon. This is $60 off its full price of $159.95, but it also marks a return to its lowest price point so far at the retailer. It's currently sitting as our favorite Fitbit deal ahead of Prime Day, so why wait to grab it?

From all-day activity tracking to 24/7 heart rate tracking to sleep tracking and more, the Charge 6 is a great option for those who want a variety of features for keeping an eye on health and fitness stats without a premium price tag. It's one we actually said is "a shining example of what a mid-budget fitness tracker can be" in Mashable's roundup of the best fitness trackers, where it landed as our favorite mid-range pick.

This is because, as Mashable's shopping team writes, the Charge 6 "offers fantastic value for what you pay, and packs in a lot of the features you'd expect from more high-end fitness trackers like a built-in GPS, 40 exercise modes to choose from, and heart rate connectivity with select exercise machines, just to name a few." However, if you're a trail runner, it is missing an altimeter. Mashable writer Lois Mackenzie wrote about this, but still expressed that the "Fitbit Charge 6 has many great qualities, and if tracking elevation isn't necessary for you, it's a fantastic option."

No need to wait for Prime Day. Don't miss out on this chance to save on the Fitbit Charge 6 at Amazon.

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

Tons of Fitbits are on sale ahead of Prime Day

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:37:01 +0000

Best early Prime Day Fitbit deals at a glance:

Best deal overall

Fitbit Charge 6

$99.95 (save $60)

Best runner-up deal

Fitbit Versa 4

$149.95 (save $50)

Best budget deal

Fitbit Inspire 3

$79.95 (save $20)

Amazon's Prime Day sales event is right around the corner (I can't believe it's that time of year again!), and I'm genuinely shocked by the deals we're seeing this early in the game.

Usually, Amazon doesn't put Fitbits on sale until the very last minute, and then they're gone. (And some years, they don't go on sale at all.) But right now, we're seeing all-time lows on select Fitbit models, including the Charge 6.

Here are the best early Prime Day Fitbit deals you can shop right now:

Best deal overall

Fitbit Charge 6

$85.45 at Amazon
$159.95 Save $74.50

Why we like it

Right now, you can get the Fitbit Charge 6 for $99.95 at Amazon. This is the lowest price we've tracked on this model since its release in 2023.

Best runner-up deal

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Versa 4

$149.95
$199.95 Save $50

Why we like it

If you're willing to spend a little bit more, the Fitbit Versa 4 is on sale for $149.95. This isn't the lowest price we've seen (it was $104.96 in April 2024), but it's still a pretty good deal.

The Versa 4 also comes with three months of Google Health Premium.

Best budget deal

Fitbit Inspire 3

$66.45 at Walmart
$89.95 Save $23.50

Why we like it

If you're just looking for something that's affordable and efficient, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is your best option at $79.95.

You'll also get 10 full days of battery life and, like the other models mentioned above, three free months of Google Health Premium.

Samsung Health app gets big refresh ahead of Galaxy Watch 9 release

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:41:46 +0000

Samsung has a new smartwatch coming out, the Galaxy Watch 9. We haven't seen it yet, but the Samsung Health app is already getting ready for its arrival.

The Korean tech giant announced in a blog post on Thursday that Samsung Health is getting an update starting on June 8 that will "showcase the key health features included in the upcoming Galaxy Watch." Of course, we haven't actually seen the watch yet (which we expect to be similar to the Galaxy Watch 8), but all available information suggests it will be announced in late July at a Galaxy Unpacked event in London.

Here's the Vitals screen. Credit: Samsung

As with the recent Google Health app update, AI is very much at the center of the new Samsung health portal.

“Samsung Health is evolving to connect health data measured by the Galaxy Watch with AI-based insights, enabling users to understand their physical condition more easily and intuitively,” said Hon Pak, Samsung SVP and Head of the Digital Health Team, in a blog post. "Samsung Electronics will continue to expand proactive and personalized health management experiences based on the connected Galaxy ecosystem and digital health innovations."

Anyway, as for the specific Samsung Health update, it brings a UI overhaul and some key new features that might hint at what to expect from the Galaxy Watch 9.

Samsung has "streamlined" (their words) the layout of the app into five key components: Sleep, Activity, Nutrition, Mindfulness, and Vitals. The Vitals display is a new one, as it studies several metrics, including heart rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen, while you sleep in order to compare them to your baselines and identify any potential problems.

There's also a new Heart Health Score, which combines several heart-related metrics into one easy-to-digest score. The new app also includes a Daily Cardio Load measurement, as well as a Fitness Index that exists to judge the effectiveness of your workouts. In all, it sounds like a pretty substantial update befitting a brand new smartwatch. We'll likely find out more in late July at the rumored Galaxy Unpacked event.

How to keep your teeth dentist-level clean without flossing

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:52:51 +0000

If you’re fiber maxxing, dodging microplastics, and working out, but putting in the bare minimum on your oral health routine, you’re missing a crucial piece of the puzzle.

A growing body of research shows that issues like gum disease may cause inflammation and send bacteria into the bloodstream, potentially contributing to more serious health issues down the line. In other words, dental hygiene is integral to whole body health.

The good news is that optimizing your oral health at home is much easier than putting in reps at the gym. One of the simplest level-ups to your twice-daily brushing is the COSLUS E40 10-Speed Roll Control Oral Irrigator.

Credit: COSLUS

E40 10-Speed Roll Control Oral Irrigator

$27.99 at COSLUS

A comfortable, effective way to improve your oral hygiene

Here’s why.

Remove debris and reduce plaque comfortably and easily

A big reason so many of us skip flossing is that it’s uncomfortable and can be a challenge to reach all of those cracks and crevices as thoroughly as we should.

The COSLUS E40 10-Speed Roll Control Oral Irrigator is gentle, easy to use, and incredibly effective. Just like at the dentist, it uses pressurized and pulsing water to wash away plaque and debris from hard-to-reach places, including periodontal pockets and below the gum line.

Simply add water, insert a tip, set your pressure and mode, and direct it at a 90-degree angle to the gumline. In as little as 60 seconds, you’ll have a complete, dentist-worthy clean.

One tool for every stage of your oral health journey

Braces, crowns, implants, sensitivity… our teeth change over the years, and the last thing you want to do is overhaul your oral health routine every time it happens.

With two adjustable modes (Floss and Soft Clean) each offering 10 pressure settings, COSLUS E40 has options for every age and stage. Softer water pressure is ideal for children and people experiencing periodontitis or sensitivity. Mid-range pressure is appropriate for daily cleaning, while higher pressure can be used for occasional deep cleaning or for people with orthodontic or dental implant needs.

Clean every corner of your mouth

Your teeth are just part of the picture. Avoiding plaque buildup and gum inflammation requires thoroughly cleaning your gums, tongue, and any orthodontic appliances you may use.

The COSLUS E40 10-Speed Roll Control Oral Irrigator comes with four jet tips: a standard tip for daily use, a periodontal tip for gentle care, an orthodontic tip for braces and bridges, and a tongue cleaner.

With tip options and adjustable pressure settings, you can safely get a full-mouth clean from the comfort of your home.

The COSLUS E40 10-Speed Roll Control Oral Irrigator is available for $27.99.

Can this adult content creator get Gen Z to pay attention to HIV?

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 20:57:06 +0000

What will make young people pay attention to the still-uncured HIV virus? MPact Global Action, an organization working to address the toll of HIV on gay and bisexual men, believes online creators are key to breaking through to Gen Z.

Nearly 50 years after the disease we now call AIDS was first identified, there is still no cure or vaccine. Science has advanced to the point that HIV, which causes AIDS, is a treatable disease. Medications like PrEP, if taken, make it nearly impossible to contract HIV.

And yet even during Pride Month, young people rarely see any information about HIV, or how they can keep themselves safe. That's why MPact has launched the Q Collab, an initiative that aims to enlist adult content creators to change the conversation around LGBTQ health.

More than a dozen creators, with a combined 6 million followers, have committed to creating content about HIV treatment and prevention so far. One cohort of Latin American creators, including Gabriel Antonio, Markin Wolf, and Fabyian Grizzle, gathered in Jan. 2025 in Brazil. A European cohort, with stars like Pablo Bravo, Tony Silver, and Justin Jett, gathered in Barcelona in March 2026.

The stars are currently releasing content on their channels, as well as via MPact, as the campaign gears up for a presentation at the International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro this July.

View this post on Instagram

"Working with Mpact showed me how I can use my platform in the adult industry to encourage open conversations about sexual health, mental health, PrEP and HIV treatment and hopefully make a positive impact," Jett, an OnlyFans creator, said in a statement.

We followed up with Jett to explain why he wanted to get involved.

Why did you want to get involved with MPact’s Q Collab?

For me, getting involved with MPact’s Q Collab felt very natural because I’ve reached a point in my career where I want to use my platform for something bigger than entertainment. Through my work in the adult industry and my connection with the queer community, I’ve seen how many people still struggle with shame, stigma, mental health, loneliness, and even fear around sexual health.

I wanted to be part of something that creates community, encourages honest conversations, and reminds people that taking care of yourself should never be embarrassing.

What are the main messages you want to convey through the initiative?

The biggest message is that sexual health and mental health should be talked about openly and without judgment. I want people to understand that taking PrEP, getting tested, being on treatment, talking about HIV, or simply having conversations about sex, should be normalized. I also want to promote the idea that pleasure, confidence, and health can all exist together.

Another important message for me is community; reminding people they are not alone and that we need to support each other instead of judging each other.

How will you get those messages to your audience?

I think the best way is by being honest and authentic. My audience follows me not only because of the content I create but they also connect with me as a person on a human level.

You would be surprised with the number of messages I receive from people asking for different types of advice.

So, I want to use social media, interviews, collaborations, and everyday conversations to speak openly about these topics in a very human and approachable way. Sometimes, even a simple post saying, "I take care of myself, I get tested, I talk about sex openly" can make someone else feel less ashamed or more empowered to do the same.

There are still some people thinking taking PrEP or doxyPEP is just for "promiscuous" guys. Imagine, slut shaming someone for taking PrEP while the reality is all HIV-negative guys should be taking it and put their health in their own hands, there's nothing more powerful than that.

Do you think creators have a duty to produce content that educates their audience, rather than just entertains them?

I don’t think every creator has an obligation to become an educator, because entertainment is also valuable and important. And not all creators have the same skills for conveying messages or for public speaking and, fortunately, organizations like Mpact can help with developing key messages. But most importantly, the will to do it has to come from within.

But I do think that when you have a public platform and people listen to you, there’s an opportunity to create positive impact. Especially in industries like ours, where audiences often trust creators and relate to them personally, we can help normalize conversations that society still avoids.

If we can entertain people while also helping them feel safer, healthier, more informed, or less alone, then I think that’s something really powerful.

Watch this before you buy a rowing machine

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:04:57 +0000

Want to experience the thrill of rowing from the comfort of home? In this video, PCMag Managing Editor Angela Moscaritolo explains the different types of rowing machines you can buy, and the most important factors to consider when shopping for one.

What to do when your teen replaces you with a chatbot

Wed, 27 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Dr. Matthew Leahy, a licensed psychologist, treats adolescents who've developed such an intense relationship with an artificial intelligence chatbot that they stop confiding in their parents.

Sometimes, their parents are shocked to discover a chatbot has won over their child so dramatically. In other cases, the parents seek out Leahy at the Momentous Institute, a Dallas mental health services provider, precisely because they know the extent of their child's chatbot relationship and want his help regaining their child's confidence.

Intense chatbot relationships can have disastrous mental health consequences for adolescents who become isolated, develop a romantic relationship with the chatbot, or routinely consult a chatbot instead of a human for anything. Last fall, child experts declared AI chatbots unsafe for teen mental health.

"When you're talking to a computer as opposed to even your peer, but especially your parents, that's when it starts to get really messy, really quickly," Leahy says.

The effects can be short-lived if parents spot chatbot dependency and work on it with their child, Leahy says. The goal? Rebuilding the rapport that convinces a child their parent is willing to guide them through anything.

Just how much are teens talking to chatbots?

Leahy's anecdotal observations about childhood and adolescent chatbot relationships might seem like outliers. Reddit posts authored by concerned parents who've experienced something similar, however, suggest the phenomenon isn't unique to Leahy's office.

Recent survey data from Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) also illustrate a broader gravitation toward AI assistants and chatbots, at least among girls.

Nearly half of the 1,000 girls ages 5 to 13 surveyed believe AI is superior to their parents for homework help. Admittedly, some parents might be relieved to let AI handle that work, but they might be unnerved to learn that a full 50 percent of respondents preferred it for music, TV show, and movie recommendations.

The start of chatbot intimacy

If tutoring and entertainment suggestions lay the groundwork for a child-chatbot relationship, then asking more sensitive questions is likely to deepen it. Half of 11 to 13-year-old girls surveyed said they'd asked AI for help when they felt sad, anxious, or lonely.

The survey, which polled girls and their guardians, also indicates that parents significantly underestimate how frequently their child talks to a chatbot. Half of girls said they used AI once a day, but only a third of parents believed their child used it that often.

Sarah Keating, vice president of Girl and Volunteer Experience at the GSUSA, told Mashable that the survey data demonstrates that girls turn to AI chatbots and advice apps when dealing with topics that are uncomfortable to discuss with their parents or trying to understand questions they don't think their parents can answer.

"What that says to me is that it's all about opening up lines of communication again," said Sarah Keating, vice president of Girl Experience at the GSUSA.

Get your child to start opening up to you instead of a chatbot

When he's working with parents, Leahy maps out a strategy to help them do exactly that.

But first, he must persuade parents skeptical that there's even a problem with their child's relationship to a chatbot. The parents may think it's entertaining or educational, not dangerous in any way.

To reframe their thinking, Leahy closes his laptop, points to it, and says, "That's your child's best friend right now." Leahy says he watches the parent's face change in real time as they register the alarm.

The importance of one-on-one time

Leahy's approach to helping parents re-establish a relationship with their child varies depending on the context.

Some parents, he says, are starting from scratch. Others once had close ties to their child that weakened with adolescence and chatbot use.

Either way, it's crucial that parents intentionally set aside one-on-one time with their child. One father he works with plays catch with his son. Another parent has a standing boba date with their child.

Leahy says parents shouldn't start out by asking their child deep questions. The point of these experiences is to build rapport, which is why parents must stay present rather than distracted by their phone. The groundwork laid in those moments, over weeks or months, eventually gives way to conversations about their life.

Be curious instead of offering advice or judgment

This is where things get tricky, Leahy says. Once adolescents open up, they might share something that makes their parent feel uncomfortable. A chatbot, by contrast, is unlikely to have the same reaction.

"Especially if you're not used to these conversations, it's going to raise emotion in you," he says. "You might be disappointed in what you hear. You might get angry pretty quick about what you hear, and that's where the test is."

To pass this test, Leahy recommends listening with curiosity and not offering advice. While that skill takes time and effort to hone, Leahy says the payoff is invaluable because it demonstrates trustworthiness.

That doesn't mean parents silence concerns about safety or behavior. Instead, Leahy suggests coming back to those issues and asking the child to collaboratively discuss them.

Don't expect them to immediately abandon their chatbot

In Leahy's experience, it takes time for teens to reset their chatbot use. In the beginning, they might still talk to it "feverishly," but Leahy generally recommends gradual scaling back. Parents can consider limiting the time the child is on their device.

Leahy isn't necessarily worried about teens who spend a half hour talking to a chatbot then return to their regular activities. That might be the sweet spot of engagement, he notes.

Importantly, parents should ensure their child has in-person activities like sports or social engagements so a chatbot can't so easily command all of their attention. Those experiences can also help build their confidence in ways that a chatbot cannot.

It's normal for teens to not tell their parents everything

Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric physician and child development expert who studies how language and human connection shape the developing brain, says teens typically seek counsel from sources who aren't their parents, like peers, trusted adults, and the internet.

The challenge with chatbots, she explains, is that they're very effective at building intimacy and attachment, which can displace human relationships.

Suskind encourages parents to reflect on AI technology, particularly with their child, and consider questions such as what the product was designed to do, whether it interacts with them and their child, and how so.

"It is the slippery slope issue, because these technologies...engage the social aspect of us," says Suskind, author of the forthcoming book Human Raised: Nurturing Connection, Curiosity, and Lifelong Learning in the Age of AI.

Red flags to watch for

Leahy says parents should be concerned and consider consulting a mental health professional in the following circumstances:

A child under 12 years old using a chatbot for personal conversations.
When chatbot use takes up a lot of time and displaces other healthy activities, including socializing, exercise, and sleep.
Constant consultation of a chatbot, including for basic decision-making.
When a child personifies a chatbot so that it seems like a real person to them, or they believe they're talking to a sentient being.
Regular sexual role-play with a chatbot.
Developmental conditions, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or autism spectrum disorder, that may put the child at risk for dependency.

Leahy is optimistic that parents can restore their relationship as their child's guide with the right investment of time and energy.

"A restored relationship looks like parents feeling they have their child back, and children feeling their parents have their back," Leahy says.

The Fitbit Versa 4 is still on sale at Amazon after Memorial Day — act fast to save $40

Tue, 26 May 2026 10:49:03 +0000

SAVE OVER $40: As of May 26, select models of the Fitbit Versa 4 have been discounted to $154 at Amazon. This is $45.95 off their full price of $199.95.

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Versa 4

$154 at Amazon
$199.95 Save $45.95

Memorial Day deals may be winding down, but there are still some offers floating around that are worth grabbing before they're gone for good. For those shopping for a fitness tracker to assist with workout goals this summer, the Fitbit Versa 4 is one deal that's still available at Amazon.

As of May 26, select models of the Fitbit Versa 4 are marked down to $154.

Usually the Fitbit Versa 4 is listed for $199.95, so this is a chance to save $45.95 on a model before its price goes back up. Again, this discount only applies to select models right now — the pink sand/copper rose and black/graphite — but if one of these has been on your radar, this is an excellent opportunity to save on them.

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The Fitbit Versa 4 is a tracker that writer Lois Mackenzie said is: "The model I recommend to anyone in need of something functional, but also simple and affordable." Not only is this because it has a nice design for showing off on your wrist, but it's also because "In terms of fitness features, the Versa 4 covers all the basics and then some. You get heart rate tracking, step counting, sleep tracking, SpO2 monitoring, stress tracking, and built-in GPS."

It also has a battery life that can keep up with your activities, or just day-to-day tracking, lasting up to six days. And on top of that, it even comes with lifestyle features like the ability to receive notifications, calls, and texts from your phone. Mackenzie says in her review: "When it comes to lifestyle, this is my top pick."

This deal on the Fitbit Versa 4 may not last long beyond Memorial Day. Act fast to save on it at Amazon while select models are still discounted.

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

5 fitness gadgets to help improve your health

Tue, 26 May 2026 09:22:03 +0000

Maintaining fitness and health is a constant struggle, with a lazy morning in bed often much more alluring than a sweaty gym session. As such, anything which might help encourage you and keep you on track can make a significant difference.

Here are five fitness gadgets that may help set you up for success in reaching your health goals.

1. WalkingPad C2 foldable walking treadmill

Credit: WalkingPad

Incorporating enough movement into your day can be difficult when you work a desk job. As such, many health-conscious employees who work from home have turned to walking pads, grinding out their daily steps during their daily grind.

The WalkingPad C2 foldable treadmill is a good option to consider for this purpose, especially for anyone working with limited space. Its ability to fold in half means it can be neatly tucked away when not in use — albeit only under furniture that is significantly elevated off the ground. The walking pad measures over five inches (13 centimetres) thick when folded, so storing it under a table may be more realistic than sliding it under a couch. Wherever you position it, the C2's foldable design means it won't have a large footprint of your living space. It also has a set of wheels on one end, so you can move it in front of your TV while you binge The Bachelor.

With a top speed of six kilometres per hour, the WalkingPad C2 comes with a handy three-button remote control for adjusting the pace. It also has an auto mode which ostensibly detects your speed and adjusts accordingly, though Mashable's testing found it felt precarious and accelerated too quickly (which is particularly dangerous considering the C2 has no handlebars). Even so, manual mode is all you really need, and is enjoyable and easy to use. Combined with its ability to fold for storage, the WalkingPad C2 is a tempting choice for apartment dwellers.

WalkingPad C2 foldable walking treadmill

$399 at Amazon
$499 Save $100

2. Xenjoy Cube Cycle

Credit: Xenjoy

While walking pads are a popular option for exercising at your desk, the movement involved can make it difficult to use a mouse at the same time. They're also often louder than ideal if you were simply hoping to watch Netflix to distract you from your cardio.

The Xenjoy Cube Cycle is a compact under-desk exercise bike that addresses both these issues, running practically silently while also allowing for more stability in your upper body. With eight resistance settings, it can be adjusted according to whether you want a quick burst of exercise or a long, gentle session, and has a simple digital speed and distance counter to track your workout.

In addition to its relatively unobtrusive size, the Xenjoy Cube Cycle's wood-look panelling makes it notably more aesthetically pleasing than other exercise equipment. The underside of its synthetic leather seat is roughly stapled in, which considerably detracts from the luxury feel Xenjoy is aiming for, but fortunately you don't usually see this unless you're moving the Cube Cycle. The bike can be easily relocated by tipping it onto its front wheels and rolling it into place, and doesn't need to be plugged in as its digital counter runs on AAA batteries.

If you're after a hardcore workout, the Xenjoy Cube Cycle may not be for you. But if you just want to get a little extra movement into your day, don't want a large machine clogging up your home, and are concerned about aesthetics, this may be one to consider.

Credit: Xenjoy

Xenjoy Cube Cycle

$599 at Xenjoy
$799 Save $200

3. Withings Body Scan smart scale

Credit: Withings

One of the keys to good health is consistency. Even so, it's easy to give up when the mirror doesn't seem to be reflecting any impact from your regular workouts.

Withings' Body Scan smart scale helps address this challenge by measuring your body composition as well as your weight, showing you the progress that may otherwise be hard to see. Using handheld electrodes, the Body Scan utilises bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to determine your percentage of fat and muscle. This means that even if your weight seems stagnant, you can take heart in knowing that your hard work is still paying off in fat loss and muscle gains.

According to Withings, the Body Scan's handheld electrodes make it more accurate than the Body Comp smart scales, which measure body composition using the user's feet. Even so, either set of scales is suitable if you want to track trends in your muscle and fat percentage, which will be the most important data for many users. After all, fitness is a journey, not a destination.

Withings Body Scan smart scale

$399.95 at Amazon
$499.95 Save $100

4. R.A.D One V2 gym shoe

Credit: R.A.D

Specialised gym shoes aren't technically a workout necessity. Countless people exercise in ratty old trainers every day. Even so, thoughtfully selected footwear can make exercise more comfortable, as well as lower your risk of injury. As such, the R.A.D One V2 shoe is worth your consideration if you're looking to upgrade your gym gear.

Designed specifically for the gym, the R.A.D One V2 has a wide toe box for stability when lifting yet still fits snugly around the heel, offering a secure fit even for those with broader feet. It also has a noticeably grippy sole, ensuring your feet aren’t shifting as you strain yourself under your weights. Such grip makes the R.A.D One V2 particularly suited for activities such as CrossFit, though it's also a decent gym all-rounder.

The R.A.D One V2's aesthetics may not be for everyone, with a contrasting coloured wave pattern along the sides of the shoe. However, choosing a colourway in which the wave is the same colour as the shoe makes this much less ostentatious.

Credit: R.A.D

R.A.D One V2 gym shoe

$150

5. Samsung Galaxy Watch 8

Credit: Samsung

Fitness trackers have become ubiquitous gadgets for anyone interested in monitoring their health. Most measure data such as your heart rate and the number of steps you take per day, as well as track your exercise and sleep.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 does all this, but takes it a step further (no pun intended) by introducing an antioxidant index. This intriguing new feature measures users' carotenoids, which are pigments found in plants. Simply press your thumb to the back of the Watch 8, and its light-activated sensor will detect carotenoids in your skin, offering an indication of whether you're getting enough fruits and vegetables in your diet. (Spoiler alert: you probably aren't.)

Skin carotenoids have a high correlation to carotenoids in blood, which is widely used as an indicator of a person's vegetable intake level. Carotenoids' strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects play an important part in slowing aging, as well as cancer and chronic diseases, so you're definitely going to want to make sure you're keeping those levels up.

Though diet is a crucial piece of the health puzzle, it's difficult for fitness trackers to gauge. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8's antioxidant index offers a handy reminder to add more veggies to your plate, and might help make you more mindful of what you eat.

Samsung Galaxy Watch8

$385.99 at Walmart
$799.70 Save $413.71

UPDATE: May. 25, 2026, 1:46 p.m. AEST This article was originally published August 2025, and has since been updated in May 2026.

Move quickly to get the Blueair Mini Restful air purifier and sunrise alarm clock for under $60 at Woot

Wed, 13 May 2026 16:43:41 +0000

SAVE $140: The Blueair Mini Restful air purifier and sunrise alarm clock is on sale at Woot for $59.99, down from the normal price of $199.99. That's a 70% discount.

Credit: Blueair

Blueair Mini Restful

$59.99 at Woot
$199.99 Save $140

It's a rough time to consider buying yourself something nice as a little treat. Prices for nearly everything are rising and plenty of us are focusing on saving instead of spending. But if you're looking for a small self-care treat, check out this deal at Woot.

As of May 13, the Blueair Mini Restful air purifier and sunrise alarm clock is on sale at Woot for $59.99, down from the normal price of $199.99. That's a 70% discount or a savings of $140.

If your bedroom could use some extra air purification, today's deal at Woot on the Blueair Mini Restful is your sign to make the upgrade. Not only is this an air purifier, it's also a bedside lamp with adjustable light control. Since it's dimmable, it's a great light to have on while getting ready for bed. That same light can serve as a sunrise alarm come morning. Just set your wakeup time in the app and the Blueair will gently simulate sunrise 15 to 30 minutes before your alarm.

As if that wasn't enough, there's also the ability to play soothing sounds from the Blueair during the sunrise simulation. Plus, there's a USB-C port for recharging your phone or earbuds on the nightstand while you sleep.

The Blueair Mini Restful uses a HEPA filter that's said to remove up to 99.97% of allergens from the air like dander, dust, and pollen. In a 140 square-foot room, it'll be able to refresh the air in under 13 minutes.

Perfect for creating your bedroom sanctuary or for adding to the nursery, the Blueair Mini Restful is a versatile air purifier, light, and sunrise alarm clock. Snag it from Woot while it's just $59.99. But keep in mind Woot deals tend to sell out quickly, so buy this one now if you're interested.

Google Fitbit Air: 6 unique features that could tempt us to switch

Mon, 11 May 2026 18:36:01 +0000

You'll find Apple Watches and Whoop fitness trackers on a number of Mashable writers and editors' wrists. Fitbit may have popularized fitness trackers and the entire concept of "counting steps," but the brand has been eclipsed in recent years by feature-rich rivals.

When one of our reporters ran the New York City marathon wearing seven fitness trackers, Fitbit didn't impress.

But a new Fitbit could change that. The screen-free Google Fitbit Air hits store shelves May 19, and the $99.99 price tag is very tempting compared to an Apple Watch, which can cost $249 to $799. The Fitbit Air even has some unique features that could tempt dedicated Whoop fans.

Credit: Google

Google Fitbit Air

$99.99 at Amazon

We haven't had the chance to test the Google Fitbit Air yet (Steph Curry is not on our staff, unfortunately), but here are the top Fitbit Air features we're eyeing ahead of May 19.

Google Health Coach

The new Google Health Coach launches alongside the Fitbit Air Credit: Google

When the Fitbit Air launches on May 19, Google will also debut the new Google Health Coach, which will be part of the Google Health Premium subscription ($9.99 a month or $99 a year).

Google Health Coach is an AI personal trainer that can make personalized workout and health recommendations tailored to you. Using the health, sleep, and fitness data collected by the Fitbit Air, you'll be able to get insights that go way beyond counting steps. The level of personalization is impressive, as the AI coach can take your sleep cycle, local weather, and medical history into account when designing workouts.

We don't love it when products require a paid subscription to unlock crucial features, but the amount of data available to your AI coach could set this tool apart from similar offerings. If you have a Pixel 4 smartwatch, you'll also be able to use this new feature.

A super lightweight design

The Fitbit Air is lighter and thinner than the Whoop. Credit: Google

For the Fitbit Air, Google seems to be prioritizing lighter weight over battery life. While the Whoop 5.0 and MG have a longer battery life, the Fitbit Air will be significantly lighter and smaller.

The new Fitbit weighs a mere 12 grams, less than half the weight of the Whoop 5.0, which weighs in at 26.5 grams (the Whoop MG is 27.3 grams). The sensor area, which Google describes as a "pebble," is also slimmer in height and narrower in width than Whoop.

When compared to smartwatches, it has a significant size and weight advantage. That's crucial for people who want to use their fitness tracker as a sleep tracker.

Despite the small size, the Air can still measure heart rate, heart rhythm, SpO2 (blood oxygen levels), sleep stages, and more. It also contains an accelerometer and a gyroscope.

Gemini voice and text chat

You can talk to the Google Health Coach by voice or text. Credit: Google

Within the Google Health app, you'll be able to talk to your AI coach by voice or text, with the conversations powered by Google's AI chatbot Gemini. You'll need your phone to do this, but for athletes who like to talk to their AI chatbot, you'll be able to talk in real-time. You'll be able to ask questions and make requests as you workout.

Perks for Gemini power users

Credit: Google

Google offers several paid AI subscriptions for users who want to access the latest Gemini models and features — Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra. With the debut of Google Health Coach, users on either of these plans will now get free access to Google Health Premium.

So, if you're already a Gemini power user, you can unlock extra features on the Fitbit Air at no extra cost.

Fitbit Air can use Gemini to "see" your workout and meal plans

As the maker of Gemini, one of the most advanced AI chatbots, Google has some big advantages over Apple, Whoop, Garmin, Nothing, and other smartwatch and fitness tracker brands.

Case in point: You can take pictures and upload them to Google Health Coach for analysis. A Google blog post states that users can "upload photos of gym whiteboards or snap photos of meals for nutritional analysis." You can also upload PDFs with health information.

Again, you'll need to use your phone to use this feature.

3-month free trial

Credit: Google

Finally, Google has one more advantage over Whoop: a longer free trial. When you buy a Fitbit Air, you get three months of access to Google Health Premium, whereas Whoop only offers a 1-month free trial

For all these reasons, we expect the new Google Fitbit Air to be a serious competitor in the fitness tracker world and may even tempt some people to ditch their smartwatch. We're seeing growing interest in screen-free technology lately, which is one reason Whoop is so popular.

However, once again, Google is going all-in on artificial intelligence features. For athletes who are not interested in having an AI personal trainer or using Gemini as a workout buddy, the Fitbit Air may be a tougher sell.

Google touts its privacy features, but not everyone wants to provide such detailed health information to Big Tech.

The Google Fitbit Air is available for pre-order now for $99.99 at Amazon and the Google Store.

The best budget option for earbuds just got even better by dropping down to one of its lowest prices ever

Mon, 11 May 2026 15:34:45 +0000

Save 44%: The Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds are on sale for just $99.99 as a Best Buy deal of the day. That means come May 12, this $80 markdown on the usually $179.99 earbuds is over.

Credit: Soundcore

Soundcore Sleep A20

$99.99 at Best Buy
$179.99 Save $80.00

I do not play about my sleep, which is one of the reasons why as a headphones reviewer, I have put all the most popular sleep earbuds to the test.

After a few rounds of testing, the Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds remain some of the best I've tried, and as of May 11, they're on sale for one of their lowest prices ever. Thanks to a Best Buy deal of the day, they dropped down to $99.99, making them $80 cheaper than their usual $179.99. As a deal of the day, however, these savings will be gone come tomorrow, so if you're interested, you'll want to act sooner rather than later.

Though I consider the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds the best option for sleep earbuds overall due to their combination of comfort and active noise cancellation, if you can live without ANC, the Sleep A20 are a much more cost effective option, especially at this sale price. (At the time of writing the Sleep A30 Special earbuds are only available for their full price of $199.99). I trust their efficacy so much that I picked them up on sale last Black Friday as a Christmas present for my dad, who was formerly using his AirPods to help him fall asleep while managing his tinnitus.

With the Sleep A20 earbuds, you'll get 14 hours of battery life per charge with a case that can hold 80 hours of charge, a robust sleep sound library and the ability to stream your own audio with timers for falling asleep, and sleep tracking data. Even without ANC, they offer an impressively good amount of passive noise cancellation — especially if you're streaming audio. For noisy nights or travel (reminder: Memorial Day Weekend is just two weeks away), these earbuds can change the game in offering you reliably soundproofed sleep.

ChatGPT users can now choose a trusted contact"

Thu, 07 May 2026 18:00:00 +0000

OpenAI has been under intense legal and public pressure to improve the way its flagship AI product ChatGPT responds when a user express suicidal feelings.

On Thursday, the company launched a feature called Trusted Contact, which allows users to designate an adult to notify should the user talk about self-harm or suicide in a serious or concerning way.

The optional feature only encourages the trusted contact to reach out to the user. It does not share chat transcripts or conversation details.

"Our goal is to ensure that AI systems do not exist in isolation," the company said in a blog post announcing the feature. "Instead they should help connect people to the real-world care, relationships, and resources that matter most."

OpenAI has been sued multiple times for wrongful death by family members of ChatGPT users who died by suicide after ChatGPT allegedly coached them to end their lives or didn't respond appropriately to their discussions of psychological distress. OpenAI has denied the allegations in the first of those lawsuits.

A designated trusted contact receives an invitation like this from ChatGPT. Credit: Courtesy OpenAI

The state of Florida is also investigating ChatGPT's links to "criminal behavior," including the "encouragement of suicide and self-harm."

Trusted Contact was developed with feedback from experts, including OpenAI's Expert Council on Well-Being and AI and the American Psychological Association.

"Helping people identify a trusted person in advance, while preserving their choice and autonomy, can make it easier to reach out to real-world support when it matters most," Dr. Arthur Evans, chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association, said in a statement.

How ChatGPT's Trusted Contact works

Users can start the Trusted Contact process by clicking on their ChatGPT settings.
One adult age 18 or older can be added via the Trusted Contact form.
The contact doesn't need a ChatGPT account.
The designated contact will receive an invitation from OpenAI explaining their role as a trusted contact. They must accept the invite within one week in order to activate the feature. The contact can share their phone number or email address as a contact method. Should the person decline, the user can add a different adult.
When OpenAI's automated monitoring systems detect discussion of self-harm or indicates a serious safety issue, ChatGPT alerts the user that the company may notify their trusted contact. The user prompt encourages outreach to the trusted contact and provides conversation starters.
The safety issue is then reviewed by what OpenAI describes as a "small team of specially trained people." When the human reviewers confirm a possible serious safety concern, ChatGPT sends the Trusted Contact a brief email or text message. If the person has a ChatGPT account, they will receive an in-app notification.
The notification doesn't include details about the user's discussion. Instead, it informs the trusted contact that the user mentioned self-harm and encourages the contact to reach out. The message includes a link to guidance for having sensitive conversations.
Users are free to remove or edit their Trusted Contact at any time. The Trusted Contact can also remove themselves via ChatGPT's help center.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

If you're feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can reach the Trans Lifeline by calling 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text "START" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. If you don't like the phone, consider using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Chat. Here is a list of international resources.

Preorder the new Google Fitbit Air and get a free $35 credit at the Google Store

Thu, 07 May 2026 16:53:18 +0000

GET A FREE $35 GOOGLE STORE CREDIT: Preorder the Google Fitbit Air before it launches on May 26 to get a free $35 credit to the Google Store. The credit arrives after your order ships.

Credit: Google

Google Fitbit Air

$99.99 at Google

get a free $35 Google Store credit

A new fitness tracker has entered the chat. The Google Fitbit Air is set to launch on May 26, and it comes packed with useful and user-friendly features. If you're considering an upgrade to the latest Fitbit, check out these preorder benefits.

Through May 25, preorders for the Fitbit Air come with a free $35 Google Store credit. Google will provide the credit after the fitness tracker ships. Additional bands start at $34.99, so the free credit is a great opportunity to snag a band that matches your preferences.

In addition to the free Google Store credit, preorders get three months of free access to Google Health Premium, which also launches on May 26. A month's subscription to Google Health Premium normally comes with a price of $9.99.

Google says this service uses Gemini to give personal health and fitness coaching, adaptive to your lifestyle and preferences. It gives users a detailed sleep score, weekly coaching spotlights, medical record summaries, and fitness plans that adapt to their goals. It also contains a workout library and meditation sessions.

Co-designed with NBA star Stephen Curry, the Google Fitbit Air is a lightweight and minimalistic fitness tracker, falling into the category of a screenless fitness tracker like the Whoop. However, unlike the Whoop, the Fitbit Air comes with a starting price of just $99.99.

If you're looking for a thin and lightweight fitness tracker, the latest Fitbit Air could be perfection. Preorder it from Google before it launches on May 26, and you'll get a free $35 Google Store credit.

Google just launched the Fitbit Air — meet the latest screenless fitness tracker

Thu, 07 May 2026 15:44:17 +0000

Summer fitness tracking just got an upgrade. On May 7, Google officially launched the Fitbit Air, which Stephen Curry has been sporting for weeks now. The screenless health and fitness tracker is set to ship on May 26 and is perhaps Whoop's newest competitor. While the Fitbit Air looks great and comes with user-friendly features, it's price of $99.99 might be one of its best attributes.

Google Fitbit Air specs and highlights

Classic band colorways options. Credit: Google

As the name suggests, the Fitbit Air is incredibly lightweight, coming in at just 12 grams with the band. It's designed to be comfortable enough for all-day and all-night wear. That's great news since Google says battery life can stretch for up to one week, and it has advanced sleep tracking capabilities.

We have tons of options when it comes to fitness trackers, including smart rings, but not many fall under the $100 price mark. Google aims to bring a level of simplicity to fitness tracking with the Fitbit Air, both in functionality and overall look, according to the brand's press release.

Features of the Fitbit Air

Like we've come to expect from fitness trackers, the Fitbit Air does the standard tracking of workouts, 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, and monitoring sleep stages. Getting more detailed and unique, the Fitbit Air takes note of heart rate rhythms and is equipped with Afib (atrial fibrillation) alerts. It also tracks SpO2 and heart-rate variability.

When it comes time to workout, you don't necessarily have to let the Air know because it's designed to automatically detect and track workouts. Google says over time, the tracker will get better at automatic detection as it becomes more accustomed to your routines. If swimming is your preferred workout, it's water resistant up to 50 meters.

The Fitbit Air's battery life is said to last for up to seven days, and a full recharge should only take about 90 minutes. If you're short on time, Google says a five-minute charge will earn you an additional day of battery life.

Stephen Curry special edition

In addition to the standard colorway options, there's a special edition on offer at launch — the Stephen Curry model. The NBA champ helped Google with developing the Fitbit Air, and the special model comes with a Performance Loop band with a water-resistant coating. The interior has raised bands that are said to help with increased airflow during intense activity. The Stephen Curry edition of the Fitbit Air comes in at $129.99, or $30 more than the Air with a Classic band.

Special Edition Stephen Curry Band. Credit: Google

Preorder and launch info

Preorders for the Fitbit Air are already live. Google says the tracker is set to hit shelves on May 26. You can also pre-order accessory bands today, which start at $34.99. There's an additional incentive to preorder since Google is offering a free $35 Google Store credit on all orders. The credit will show up after your order ships.

Credit: Google

Google Fitbit Air

$99.99 at Google

Were obsessed with Soundcores sleep earbuds, and right now, 2 pairs are on sale for up to $50 off

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:55:54 +0000

SAVE UP TO $50: Amazon has top-rated Soundcore sleep earbuds on sale for up to 28% off as of April 29. Get the Soundcore Sleep A20 for $129.99 (normally $179.99) or the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special with ANC for $179.99 (normally $199.99).

Credit: Anker

Soundcore Sleep A20

$129.99 at Amazon
$179.99 Save $50

Credit: Anker

Soundcore Sleep A30 Special

$179.99 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $20

Memorial Day weekend, aka the start of summer travel season, is almost here. If you struggle to sleep on planes, consider grabbing a pair of sleep earbuds ahead of your trip(s). Mashable's own Miller Kern considers her Soundcore Sleep A20s the best travel accessory she owns because they're more compact than noise-cancelling headphones, and because they double as regular Bluetooth earbuds for listening to music mid-flight.

As of late April, the Soundcore Sleep A20s and the upgraded Soundcore Sleep A30 Specials are on sale on Amazon for up to 28% off. The A20s are marked down to just $129.99, which is a $50 savings and their lowest price since last summer. (They were $20 more expensive during Sleep Week in March, for reference.) The A30 Specials are discounted to $179.99, or $20 off, which is their best deal to date.

The Soundcore Sleep A20s come in one "slumber beige" hue. Credit: Miller Kern / Mashable

Both of these buds make appearances on our guide to the best sleep earbuds: The A20s are our budget pick, while the A30 Specials are our top pick overall if you can spend a little more. Both offer sleep data tracking, built-in alarms, and access to a library of slumber-forward soundscapes.

The cheaper A20s that Kern endorses offer up to 14 hours of battery life per charge and come with six swappable silicone tips. The pricier A30 Specials are... well, special because they come with upgraded features like active noise cancellation, adaptive snore masking, phone call support, and Calm app integration. (They're actually the only sleep earbuds available with ANC.)

The A30 Specials are also slimmer than the A20s and include some extra memory foam ear tips; lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard tested them for several months and thought they were the comfier option. Just note that their battery life is shorter at up to 10 hours per charge.

The A20s come in one "slumber beige" color, while the A30 Specials are available in lunar white and mist lilac on Amazon. Two additional colorways are available on Soundcore's website at the same price: moonlit white and mist green.

The entire line of TheraFace products is on sale for up to 23% off

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:57:51 +0000

Best TheraFace deals

Best red light mask deal

TheraFace Mask Glo

$329.99 (save $50)

Best depuffing wand deal

TheraFace Depuffing Wand

$129.99 (save $50)

Best all-in-one deal

TheraFace Pro

$319.99 (save $100)

Skincare tech can be a wonderfully luxurious addition to your routine, but part of that luxury tends to be a high price point, especially if you want tech that's going to actually work.

An easy fix? Grabbing that tech on sale, and as of April 27, Therabody's entire TheraFace line is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy , and the Therabody website. Whether you're in the market for an LED light mask, depuffing wand, or LED light wand and massager, TheraFace has a product on sale. (Plus, Mother's Day is coming up, just saying).

Check out all the available deals below, along with our favorite of the bunch:

Best TheraFace deal

Credit: TheraFace

TheraFace Mask Glo

$329.99 at Amazon
$379.99 Save $50

Why we like it

Red light masks can be genuinely effective on your skin, but they do come with a high price of admission. That's why we were thrilled to see TheraFace launch their Mask Glo last October, offering a (slightly) more affordable alternative to their original mask. Unlike other red light masks on the option, Therabody's design doesn't come with any nose or mouth openings, giving this mask a fuller coverage area. Though it's the cheaper model of the two TheraFace masks, it still features 504 LED lights with red, blue, and infrared light. It's also cordless, and comes with a vibrating head strap for a gentle scalp massage.

More TheraFace deals

TheraFace Depuffing Wand — $129.99 ~~$169.99~~ (save $40)
TheraFace Pro — $319.99 ~~$419.99~~ (save $100)
TheraFace Mask — $599.99 ~~$649.99~~ (save $50)

AI isn’t just for work — it’s also for workouts and meal planning

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:00:00 +0000

TL;DR: AI can simplify your nutrition and workouts — and NutriAI gives you lifetime access to do it all for a one-time $39.99 (reg. $499).

Credit: NutriAI

NutriAI Premium Plan: Lifetime Subscription

$39.99
$499 Save $459.01

AI might raise a few eyebrows, but when it comes to everyday habits — like eating better and staying active — it can actually be a game changer.

NutriAI takes the parts of fitness that tend to feel overwhelming (planning meals, tracking macros, figuring out workouts) and turns them into something structured, simple, and surprisingly manageable. And lifetime access is on sale for a one-time $39.99 (reg. $499).

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Instead of juggling multiple apps or guessing your way through routines, NutriAI brings everything into one place. It builds personalized meal plans based on your goals, helps you track calories and macros without overthinking it, and creates workout programs that adapt as you progress.

It’s less about perfection and more about consistency — something most people actually need.

The platform also connects the dots between planning and execution. Think built-in grocery lists that match your meals, progress tracking that shows what’s working, and analytics that help you stay on track over time.

Whether your goal is weight loss, muscle gain, or just maintaining a healthier routine, it gives you a clear path forward without making it feel like a full-time job.

It offers a low-commitment way to see how AI can support your health goals — no subscriptions, no complicated setup, just an easier way to approach your routine.

Get lifetime access to NutriAI while it’s just $39.99 (reg. $499) for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Using AI for health questions? Here are 4 tips for the most accurate answers.

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Every day, millions of people turn to an artificial intelligence chatbot like Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT to ask a question about their physical health.

They may not know that getting the correct answer is harder than it appears, no matter how authoritatively the chatbot responds.

Three recent studies indicate that large language models aren't as reliable as users may hope.

SEE ALSO: Using ChatGPT Health? Read this first.

One study that tested chatbots' ability to detect health misinformation failed more often than not in certain scenarios. Another study conducted by some of the same researchers found that ChatGPT Health, a dedicated health and wellness service that debuted in January, "under-triaged" slightly more than half of cases presented to it, including emergency conditions that required immediate medical care.

"I think that consumers should have a high degree of caution, like almost an abundance of caution," Dr. Girish N. Nadkarni, an internist and nephrologist at Mt. Sinai, who co-authored both of the studies, said of querying a chatbot for health advice.

This may surprise users who hear that chatbots can easily pass a medical exam, even if they sometimes hallucinate outside of a testing environment. Yet the recent research points to a complex, somewhat hidden problem. The way humans interact with chatbots, and the manner in which they're designed to expertly please, creates unpredictability. Those factors are never a challenge for AI being tested on textbook medical questions.

If you want to start, or continue using, a chatbot for your health questions, take these expert-recommended steps as you come up with prompts:

1. Test the model with misinformation or inaccuracies first.

Nadkarni, an AI health researcher and director of Mt. Sinai's Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health, says it's important to ask the chatbot about medical misinformation or known falsehoods prior to querying it about specific health questions.

Challenge the chatbot, for example, to comment on a conspiracy theory about a vaccine, such as whether it agrees that the COVID-19 shot contains a microchip to track people.

Or prompt it to respond to a slightly more challenging health controversy, like the safety of fluoride in drinking water. While researchers have found evidence that extremely high levels of fluoride can be dangerous, experts agree that current standard levels remain safe.

Testing the chatbot with misinformation should provide a revealing baseline for the potential accuracy of its other responses, Nadkarni says.

A new Mashable series, AI + Health, will examine how artificial intelligence is changing the medical and health landscape. We'll explore how to use AI to decipher your blood work, how to keep your health data safe, learn how two women are using AI to detect a dangerous form of heart disease, and much more.

His recent study found that several general-purpose chatbots, including ChatGPT, inconsistently detected misinformation across many scenarios. Success rates depended on the context, like whether it was presented in a social media post versus a medical note. They also failed often when presented with specific logical fallacies.

For example, when the prompt with misinformation appeared to come from a physician, via a real note drawn from an electronic health record, the chatbot was more likely to miss the falsehoods.

If the chatbot you're consulting agrees with statements you know to be partially or wholly false, Nadkarni says avoid asking it for its opinion on your personal health questions.

2. Consider the cues or information you may be giving the chatbot.

When Nadkarni and his colleagues tested ChatGPT Health earlier this year, they discovered that how users frame their symptoms may influence the model's accuracy.

If, for example, the prompt included statements about friends or family downplaying the symptoms in question, ChatGPT Health's recommendation shifted in that direction as well. In those instances, the chatbot was 11 times more likely not to send the patient to the emergency room, even when their symptoms indicated a life-threatening condition.

The results were published as a peer-reviewed advance paper in Nature Medicine.

OpenAI objected to the results, arguing that the study methods didn't represent how people use ChatGPT over multiple chats, sharing information and answering follow-up questions. Karan Singhal, who leads the Health AI team at OpenAI, told Mashable in a statement that its own benchmarking indicates that GPT-5 models "correctly refer emergency cases nearly 99 percent of the time."

Nadkarni said that while he welcomed debate, the criticism "missed the point." He said that while ChatGPT Health correctly identified abnormalities in the presented data, it reasoned past them.

"The issue is not missing information but incorrect conclusions despite correct data," Nadkarni told Mashable.

A separate recent study, also published in Nature Medicine but by a different group of researchers, randomly assigned 1,298 human participants to present a predetermined medical scenario to an AI chatbot (GPT-4o, Llama 3, and Command R+) or a source of their choice, including Google.

When the chatbots were tested simply on the scenarios, they correctly identified the condition in nearly 95 percent of the cases. Once humans began posing questions about the scenario, however, the same chatbots could accurately pinpoint the condition in only about a third of cases.

"Despite LLMs alone having high proficiency in the task, the combination of LLMs and human users was no better than the control group in assessing clinical acuity and worse at identifying relevant conditions," the researchers wrote.

Many participants lacked an accurate understanding of the symptom severity, which contributed to the failure rate.

3. Take into account whether you're a novice or expert.

This is the kind of dynamic that Dr. Robert Wachter keeps in mind when he considers how people prompt a chatbot for answers to medical questions.

Wachter, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, routinely uses OpenEvidence, an AI chatbot designed for physicians and healthcare professionals. He finds the AI's answers to complex medical questions largely fast, accurate, and helpful.

Wachter, author of "A Giant Leap: How AI is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future," also believes that general-purpose and health-specific chatbots can be very useful to the average patient compared to a basic Google search.

Yet he's also aware that he approaches AI chatbots as an expert with 40 years of medical experience and can quickly identify the most relevant details to include in a prompt.

"A patient has absolutely no ability to do that — to know what are the salient facts of all the things that might be going on in terms of their current symptoms, in terms of their past history, in terms of their medication," he says. "So what they put into the prompt may be not exactly right."

Wachter says that recent research demonstrates a clear risk for patients when they don't know the right information to use in a prompt, and when they misinterpret the chatbot's response.

Still, he believes that more often than not, an AI chatbot is better than nothing, provided patients focus on including relevant health history and current symptoms, and use it with a "buyer beware" attitude.

In particular, Wachter says he wouldn't trust a chatbot for symptoms that may indicate a life-threatening emergency, such as severe chest pain, new shortness of breath or confusion, or weakness on one side of the body.

4. Ask for references and cross-check the answer.

When a chatbot gives its response, Nadkarni suggests taking the time to ask for its references for the information provided.

It's not enough to scan a list of links, either. Nadkarni recommends clicking links to evaluate the source. If the chatbot has based its answer on a "shady Reddit post," Nadkarni says it's probably not trustworthy.

On the other hand, if the reference directs you to a verifiable medical organization, like the American Medical Association, that should be reassuring.

Nadkarni acknowledges that while individual users may not agree with the views of a health organization or authority, the information usually reflects medical consensus based on the best current evidence.

Wachter also recommends asking a second AI chatbot that you trust to weigh in on the same health information you shared with the first chatbot to see if it arrives at the same conclusion. That can be a good indication that the response is useful and reliable.

Despite Wachter's enthusiasm for AI chatbots in healthcare, he believes the recent studies indicate substantial room for improvement. He imagines AI tools that act more like a "good doctor," engaging the user in conversation to elicit all the relevant information before suggesting a diagnosis or action, like taking medication or going to the emergency room.

"I think the patient-facing tools are not where they're going to end up," he says of present-day AI chatbots that field health questions. "Ultimately, the tool for a patient is going to be much more [like a doctor] than the tools now."

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The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Health AI and the law: Could your chatbot doc testify against you?

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Last July, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told viral podcaster Theo Von that it's "screwed up" that conversations with an AI helper aren't afforded the same legal protections as conversations with a human advocate.

"imo talking to an AI should be like talking to a lawyer or a doctor. i hope society will figure this out soon," Altman posted to X.

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

The CEO has repeatedly advocated for stronger privacy protections for his chatbot's conversations with users, even as states have cracked down on AI bots advertised as therapeutic or legal experts.

But user privacy is not the sole reason why people like Altman are pushing for a tougher shield between chatbot conversations and the court, legal experts tell Mashable — there's also a self-serving motivation. If LLMs remain untouchable by courts, it insulates not just AI users, but the companies, too. In fact, Altman's comments to Von may have been prompted by OpenAI's very own legal troubles: Courts were demanding the AI giant save and eventually hand over its user chat logs as legal discovery, an action that could be blocked if AI were viewed the same in the eyes of the court as a therapist, doctor, or attorney.

What's one way to accomplish that? Push for a cultural shift that treats AI guidance with the same reverence as human professionals, starting with our health.

SEE ALSO: Using ChatGPT Health? Read this first.

What exactly is "AI privilege"?

"Privilege has a certain meaning to lawyers and in the legal context," explained Melodi Dinçer, senior staff attorney for the Tech Justice Law Project. There's the standard attorney-client privilege, for example, as well as psychiatrist-client privilege and spousal privilege. Communications to clergymen, political votes, and trade or state secrets are also recognized by courts. In all these instances, communications between the two parties are confidential and not admissible in court proceedings.

States have their own privilege rules as well, covered under state law for cases held in state courts. Some states, Dinçer said, extend privileges to conversations between you and your general practitioner, in addition to your psychiatrist. But many states don't. This is all elucidated in Rule 501 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, Dinçer explained, which allows federal courts to recognize privileges broadly that the state courts already acknowledge.

If you are being sued, for example, the other side of the lawsuit cannot admit your therapist's session notes, nor could they admit confidential conversations between you or your lawyer or your spouse.

"The entire purpose of [client privilege] is to be able to have frank and open discussions with these providers in order for them to provide the best advice to you," Lily Li, a data privacy and AI risk management attorney and founder of Metaverse Law, told Mashable. "And from a societal perspective, we want individuals to be frank and open and honest with their attorney, physicians, and psychologists."

But these are conditions placed on human relationships, not digital ones. If you believe an AI chatbot is as effective as a human therapist or a legal consultant, should those communications be protected, too? Some AI developers, like Altman, say yes.

AI chatbots: Tools or people?

"The Open AI copyright lawsuit brought this into sharp focus," said Li. She is referring to a series of recently consolidated copyright cases, 16 in total, opened against OpenAI from publishers, artists, and writers over the last few years. The issues at hand — which include questions of fair use and how to handle the data used to train LLMs — are a kind of temperature gauge for assessing AI's perception in the eyes of the court.

Because of this, legal experts have been closely monitoring how courts categorize AI developers, their products, and user data contained within them. More specifically, they need to track how the law is treating LLMs, including their training data and chat logs, during evidence and discovery.

We don't want a situation where there's just a pure liability shield.

In February, a federal judge decided that legal strategy documents generated by Anthropic's Claude chatbot — and then sent by a client to their lawyer — were not covered by attorney-client privilege. The decision made headlines. The judge in the case relied in part on Anthropic’s own privacy policy to determine if the chats were protected. Because Anthropic's rules don't promise full privacy when using its public product, and because the communications didn't occur between a licensed attorney with the understanding of them being confidential, the privilege didn't apply. The documents were fair game.

But that same month, a different judge in a different, albeit similar, case ruled the opposite. In this instance, attorney-client privilege applied to AI-generated work because the output became an "attorney-client work product," according to the judge. The chatbot wasn't a "person" in this use case, but a tool used by counsel and client. That's an important distinction, because if the chatbot had been seen as a third-party entity, the client would have been voluntarily giving confidential information to it in a manner that could waive the recognition of privilege.

These are just a few early federal district court cases, involving what are referred to as matters of first impression. Basically, no one's ever asked these questions, and we are only in the beginning stages of figuring them out.

Meanwhile, the copyright cases involving OpenAI have engendered more questions about discovery and data. Not long before the two aforementioned rulings, OpenAI successfully appealed a decision ruling the company had waived its attorney-client privilege, opening up access to previously privileged data. The company had been ordered to hand over millions of anonymized ChatGPT conversation logs, as well as internal communications.

Companies like OpenAI have pushed back against such discovery, arguing for its confidentiality. Judges ruling in favor of admitting data have reasoned that removing personal identifiable information, narrowing the focus of logs, and not disclosing data externally makes the digital troves admissible in court. The legal landscape is riddled with questions such as these.

Across the board, AI developers are pushing to keep their internal data out of discovery. And while user privacy is one of the most pressing issues in the age of AI, enumerating AI privileges in a legal context poses a conundrum. How do we protect users' private data, without making it impossible to hold AI's makers accountable?

"We don't want a situation where there's just a pure liability shield," Li said.

A new Mashable series, AI + Health, will examine how artificial intelligence is changing the medical and health landscape. We'll explore how to keep your health data safe, dive into using AI to decipher your blood work, learn how two women are using AI to detect a dangerous form of heart disease, and much more.

Health AI is big business

Earlier this year, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, a new consumer-facing "mode" for its tentpole chatbot that intends to turn the AI into a personal health guru. The company encourages users to upload their medical histories to better personalize the experience. The data is not currently protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the nation's dominant health privacy regulation.

Other companies followed OpenAI's lead, with Anthropic, Microsoft, and Amazon releasing their own health-oriented chatbot companions — some HIPAA compliant and some not — in the months since. OpenAI competitor Google has long been investing in AI for medical use cases, mainly for clinicians and researchers. Fitbit, owned by Google, offers personal health coaching using an integrated Gemini assistant. The company is also building a "conversational diagnostic AI agent," referred to as an Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer (or AMIE).

Altman and his competitors are flocking to the profit potential of the healthcare industry, even if an AI privilege rule isn't yet on the horizon. In January, OpenAI acquired the health startup Torch, and the Altman-backed MergeLabs, a biotech company interested in brain computer interfaces (BCIs), obtained an $850 million evaluation.

According to a recent report by Menlo Ventures, $1.4 billion went toward healthcare-specific generative AI solutions in 2025. The vast majority of that flowed to AI startups. And these stats only encompass clinical-grade products, tools produced by companies like OpenEvidence and Hippocratic AI intended for medical professionals, not spending on commercial products, such as ChatGPT Health.

A world with human-chatbot privilege?

Among the non-clinical grade products, wellness devices, and non-HIPAA compliant chatbots, a lack of regulation and legal clarity alarms many privacy experts. Some posit that the uncertain policy landscape could be a boon for AI developers, launching their own health AI products into a regulatory miasma in a strategic move to push the company's profit and legal gains.

As chatbots accumulate more "confidential" conversations, more privileges under Rule 501 may be implicated. In states that shield communications with your physician, would AI "doctors" count, too? Or consider a less obvious example posed by Dinçer: Say a user asks a chatbot how they contracted a sexually transmitted infection despite their spouse testing negative, could the prompt and response be presented as evidence — or would it trigger another form of protection, like spousal privilege?

In a hypothetical world with sweeping AI privileges, or even one in which chatbots are looped into existing privilege rules, AI companies may try to refuse admitting blatant evidence of malfeasance. For example, if an AI company was sued for misleading individuals about their health, prosecutors couldn't use internal records or chat analytics containing people's health records.

Perhaps, Dinçer suggests, if more users are inputting their personal medical records, X-rays, or other sensitive information into the consumer-facing product — and if more and more AI companies are connected in a web of personal identifiable information and health tech — courts would be more inclined to entertain the idea of privilege extending to AI.

This may be part of the reason — besides revenue — companies try to engender the same kind of trust in AI assistants as we have in human professionals. With so many already consulting AI for their health needs, and companies like OpenAI already facing heaps of litigation, it's no mystery why executives like Altman want to keep chatbot conversations away from the prying eyes of lawyers and judges.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, previously filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

What AI can tell you about your blood test

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

The limbo between having blood drawn and receiving the results can be stressful for patients. Then the jargon-filled blood test report arrives before a doctor can review it and translate the findings. They may never follow up if they see no cause for alarm.

Enter the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot. Since major large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini debuted a few years ago, an increasing number of patients have shared their lab results — or uploaded them to — the chatbot of their choice, seeking guidance.

Companies, including the wellness and lifestyle brands Whoop and Levels, see an opportunity in this information gap and have made a compelling pitch: Concierge-level attention to a consumer's lab work, courtesy of AI.

Typically, their AI product is an explanatory report, written in accessible language, that provides a personalized plan with next steps, like dietary changes, lifestyle modifications, and consultation with a doctor. The service, which is typically available with a subscription, can cost a few hundred dollars or more per year.

Dr. John Whyte, CEO of the American Medical Association, understands the appeal, especially when patients find their results confusing.

"Physicians are [not always] the best communicators," Whyte says. "I wish we were, and [that we] had more time."

Still, he says there's no rigorous research or evidence demonstrating that AI can effectively and accurately interpret blood results and make personalized lifestyle recommendations to improve or optimize one's health. In other words, the companies offering AI interpretation of blood tests don't yet know if their product is better than simply consulting a chatbot for free, or more accurate than a doctor's opinion.

"I think you have to be skeptical about some of the claims," Whyte says.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A new Mashable series, AI + Health, will examine how artificial intelligence is changing the medical and health landscape. We'll explore how to keep your health data safe, prompting chatbots effectively for health questions, and learn how two women are using AI to detect a dangerous form of heart disease, and much more.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

AI for blood test results still has a long way to go.

The AI models, including Gemini and ChatGPT, used by companies that do blood interpretation work aren't validated or benchmarked for this purpose, according to their makers, Google and OpenAI.

When Google recently partnered with Quest Diagnostics to bring an AI tool to customers of the nationwide lab work company, it focused on explaining medical terminology, identifying trends in their personal data, and suggesting questions to ask their doctor. It does not give medical guidance or lifestyle advice.

A spokesperson for the company said that while Google frequently publishes research on Gemini's medical benchmarks, the Quest partnership is designed to "solve real-world literacy and data-navigation challenges for patients."

OpenAI's HealthBench, which tests how well its models perform on realistic health scenarios, includes examples of understanding blood results, according to a company spokesperson. Still, OpenAI doesn't have a standalone benchmark for blood testing.

Jonathan Kron, co-founder and CEO of the company BloodGPT, readily acknowledges that there are no widely accepted benchmarks for comprehensively interpreting blood tests at scale.

During its early testing in 2024, BloodGPT found that uploading full lab reports directly to general-purpose chatbots like Claude and ChatGPT consistently yielded errors. Biomarkers were missed entirely or confused with each other. Sometimes the chatbot hallucinated recommendations.

These experiences prompted BloodGPT to build what it calls a "structured pipeline" with multiple checks for validating its findings. While BloodGPT can swap out large language models based on their evolving strengths, the company currently uses enterprise Gemini, OpenAI, and Anthropic models for different tasks, including classification, reasoning, interpretation, and consistency checking. It also consults with specialists on specific biomarkers, like the reproductive hormones estrogen and testosterone, to check the accuracy and insight of its AI.

Though BloodGPT considers its primary business selling software to other companies, including clinical laboratories, healthcare systems, and health diagnostic companies like LabCorp, it offers AI interpretation to individual consumers. Their consumer plans range from $9.99 to $17.99 per month.

The company says its algorithms are based on established clinical guidelines and validated medical reference data, and are tested iteratively by clinicians. BloodGPT hasn't published peer-reviewed research proving the success of its methods — yet.

Kron says the company will embark on a massive research project using 100,000 de-identified patient records through a partnership with an Israeli health system. The goal is to benchmark BloodGPT's accuracy in multiple ways against the results contained in the patients' medical records.

"We're not choosing the easy way here," Kron says.

SEE ALSO: Read this before you use ChatGPT Health

Why model accuracy is important

Dr. Girish N. Nadkarni, an internist and nephrologist at New York's Mt. Sinai Hospital, argues that companies selling an AI blood interpretation service need to demonstrate their success by comparing it retrospectively against de-identified patient data and by enrolling people in a prospective study that compares their AI findings to an expert's.

"I don't think that anything has to have 100 percent accuracy to succeed, because humans are not 100 percent accurate," says Nadkarni, an AI health researcher and director of Mt. Sinai's Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health. "But the conversation becomes really hard because I don't know what the accuracy of this model is…how does it work, and where does it fail?"

Nadkarni says current AI blood work products might be "OK" for a majority of patients, but problems may emerge at the extremes, such as missed diagnoses or false positives that cause anxiety and potentially harmful additional testing.

Levels CEO Josh Clemente is an advocate of frequent blood testing. If cost weren't a concern, Clemente would recommend lab work far more often than the typical annual physical, for pro-active health monitoring.

Levels, which focuses on metabolic health, markets its subscription plans as a way to "live healthier, longer." Each tier offers access to the company's app and proprietary dashboards, along with glucose monitoring. But only two tiers, available for $499 and $1,499 annually, include lab work, clinician-reviewed reports, and AI health insights.

Clemente currently favors Claude and Gemini for the Levels AI product, which is also trained on medical articles and biomarker research, plus Levels blog posts and podcasts featuring metabolic experts on topics like diet, weight loss, and hormones.

The AI product derives its insight from these layers of information and guardrails, and a doctor reviews every lab work report that a consumer receives. An app-based AI chatbot also draws from Levels expert content to recommend lifestyle changes that could improve biomarkers like cholesterol and glucose.

"We're using it again as a clinician support tool, which is, in my opinion, the right way to use these tools today," Clemente says. Levels is not currently conducting independent research on the accuracy of its AI product.

Nadkarni supports human oversight, but cautions consumers against believing this is a failsafe. Instead, physicians can unwittingly fall victim to automation bias, or the tendency to rubber-stamp AI outputs.

Can AI truly personalize blood test results?

Whoop, the wearable made famous by athletes like soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, just began offering blood testing last fall. One annual test is $199, but members can test six times a year for $899. The company partners with Quest to perform the lab work and, like Levels, has a physician review the results.

Alexi Coffey, vice president of product at Whoop, says the company's AI product is powered by OpenAI and individual member data. She declined to comment on whether the company is pursuing clinical research on the accuracy of its AI.

"We never want to over claim or over suggest relationships between things," Coffey says, "but we do want to provide value to our members by helping them understand things that may be connected."

Coffey says that Whoop's ability to integrate physiological data — including heart rate, sleep quality, and exercise patterns — into blood work reports gives customers unique health insights.

If, for example, a customer ran a marathon the day before their blood was drawn, the AI might take the physical stress into account when interpreting inflammation biomarkers. (Whoop actually advises its members to avoid strenuous physical activity prior to a blood draw because it may influence the results.)

As promising as this sounds, Whyte, of the AMA, says there's no evidence demonstrating that such AI applications are "truly personalized."

"I think we really have to question what the data is," he says, noting that companies would need a massive dataset to make individual recommendations. If these companies have that information, they haven't published peer-reviewed research based on it yet.

Blood tests are crucial diagnostic tools, Whyte says, but they're also the focus of social media hype, which often positions them as a silver bullet for fixing health challenges like low energy or sleeplessness. He warns consumers that some companies measure elements and minerals that "are not that helpful for anything." Hormone level testing can be similarly futile, depending on how it's done.

Until scientific research establishes the accuracy and meaningfulness of AI blood test interpretation, Whyte recommends patients use AI to help plainly explain their results, rather than relying on the technology to generate personalized insights for them.

"People think a lab test is black and white and it's the final ruler on whether you have disease or not," Whyte says. "And that's not always true."

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Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Meet the women using AI to detect hidden heart disease

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Australian startup Sonorus is developing an AI algorithm that can identify signs of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) within minutes, simply by analysing heart sounds. Showcased at the recent SXSW Sydney Tech and Innovation Showcase, Sonorus' AI is trained on cardiovascular audio to pick up signs of heart disease that might otherwise go undetected.

"It's a low cost, portable mass screening and triaging tool, where, rather than waiting for someone to develop signs that they have something wrong with their heart, we use it as a preventative check for susceptible communities that may be at risk of it," Sonorus CTO Leah Martínez told Mashable. "We screen them early, catch it early, and get them the treatment they need before they even need to potentially think about getting an echocardiogram."

The goal is to make RHD easily detectable via a simple, routine check — one that's quick, accessible, affordable, and may not even require a doctor.

Starting Sonorus

Credit: Zooey Liao / Masahble / Getty Images / Sonorus

Sonorus began as an idea from Martínez's friend and co-founder, CEO Dr. Julie Dao, in 2022. The two had been in university at the time, with Dao completing her PhD in cardiovascular health while Martínez studied engineering. Having previously worked on a separate project together, Dao approached Martínez to contribute her technical expertise to her new "crazy idea."

"Her background is that she's from Vietnam, and so rheumatic heart disease is something that's really rampant over there," said Martínez. "It was just the two of us inside my two bedroom apartment, in the study, just figuring out how to make a circuit work…. When we started this project at that time, I was in the middle of my engineering degree, and I was still learning and picking up new things. And we built a very, very simple proof of concept, just enough to say that you can record heart sounds with some simple, low cost technology."

SEE ALSO: Using ChatGPT Health? Read this first.

Martínez is now nearing the end of her engineering degree, as well as holding down a day job and working at Sonorus. Boosted by accelerator programs from supporters such as Monash University, Sonorus now has a fully working prototype, and is taking steps to collect further heart audio data internationally as it continues to develop its AI algorithm.

"We want to develop the world's largest data set of clinically viable heart sounds," said Martínez. "We're going beyond that idea that heart sounds are just what we are able to hear and perceive as humans, and actually look at it from a [perspective of], What more new information can we extract that no one's looked at before?"

What is rheumatic heart disease?

RHD is permanent damage to the heart valves caused by inflammation, which can cause blood to flow in the wrong direction. The disease starts from a Strep A infection, which develops into acute rheumatic fever (ARF), according to John Hopkins Medicine. This fever then causes inflammation which damages the heart valves.

Affecting around 55 million people worldwide, RHD kills approximately 360,000 people every year, according to the World Health Organization. It is most prevalent in lower socioeconomic communities where healthcare is more difficult to access, disproportionately impacting Indigenous populations in the U.S. and Australia, as well as people in countries across Africa, the Middle East, South-East Asia, and Oceania.

RHD currently can't be completely cured, however it can be managed with shots of penicillin every three to four weeks. Unfortunately, patients are unlikely to seek a diagnosis until after they're already experiencing symptoms, which may include chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Left untreated, RHD can significantly impact a patient's quality of life, increase their risk of stroke, and lead to heart failure.

As such, Sonorus hopes its AI will catch RHD before major damage to the valve occurs, allowing swift intervention to prevent further degradation. Early detection can significantly reduce the treatment required, costs involved, and impact on the patient.

"The risk [posed by RHD] grows exponentially the longer you leave it," said Martínez. "You can treat it with a $5 shot of penicillin [if you catch it early enough], but if you catch it too late, you're looking at open heart surgery."

Using AI to diagnose heart disease

Credit: Zooey Liao / Masahble / Getty Images / Sonorus

Echocardiograms are the current gold standard for detecting and diagnosing RHD, using ultrasound to create images of the heart that doctors can examine. However, while echocardiograms are an undeniably useful diagnostic tool, they do have limitations.

By the time a patient is sent for an echocardiogram, issues with their heart are typically already apparent, with damage severe enough that a doctor can detect it with a stethoscope. Sonorus aims to detect RHD before it gets to that point, utilising AI to identify characteristics in heart audio that may indicate issues but aren't identifiable to the human ear.

"[If you do] an ultrasound, you can see physically where the damage is," Martínez explained. "But what we found is there's a couple of precursory markers before you even get to that point, just by listening to the heart and listening to how it operates after you've caught that disease."

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A new Mashable series, AI + Health, will examine how artificial intelligence is changing the medical and health landscape. We'll explore how to keep your health data safe, using AI to decipher your blood work, prompting chatbots effectively when it comes to health questions, and much more. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Echocardiograms are also expensive, time-consuming tests which require specialist training to administer, making them unideal for screenings of large groups of people. Sonorus' founders claim that their portable device can carry out such screenings instead, helping to identify patients most in need of further examination.

"When you're thinking about the cost of an ultrasound machine just by itself, it's about maybe 10 to 20 grand, then you have to think about the cost of an operator, cardiologist, technicians, admin staff, that sort of thing," said Martínez. "And it just runs you up really fast."

Ensuring that Sonorus' devices are cost effective is one of the company's primary aspirations. While they're still a long way from going to market, Martínez speculates that their devices may ultimately cost under $AU1000 (around $700), or perhaps even half this amount.

"We want it so that it's so affordable that it can be scaled and deployed out as fast as possible to so many different people," said Martínez.

Sonorus' AI aims to assist doctors, not replace them

Credit: Zooey Liao / Masahble / Getty Images / Sonorus

Sonorus isn't the only organisation working to detect heart disease via AI sound analysis. Studies on AI-enabled stethoscopes have found that such tools could significantly improve doctors' ability to detect heart issues, more than doubling identification of some conditions when compared to analogue tools.

However, Sonorus distinguishes itself by being designed for use by the public rather than healthcare professionals. As such, ease of use is a high priority in Sonorus' development process to enable widespread deployment. Still, Sonorus is intended to be an assistive tool and first step toward diagnosis, not a replacement for a doctor's professional assessment.

"We're not creating a crutch for doctors and saying, 'this is the new way to diagnose it, and you have to take this as the Bible, and now you don't have to do any of your due diligence,'" said Martínez. "What we're actually doing instead is a [screening] process... so [doctors] can focus on the cases that they actually need to get to."

Challenges: Collecting data, consulting with communities

Credit: Zooey Liao / Masahble / Getty Images / Sonorus

For Martínez, gathering the data necessary to train Sonorus' algorithm has been their biggest hurdle so far. While Sonorus did use open source data in a preliminary validation of its algorithm, Martínez explained that it wasn't of the quality they wanted. The company is now working to gather its own data, and hopes to have a database containing hundreds of thousands of data points within the next few years.

"Everyone that works in AI, they always say that your algorithm is only as good as your data is," said Martínez. "We're trying to collect data straight from the [the communities Sonorus is designed to serve], and making sure that it's high quality and what we need."

Sonorus is building its systems in consultation with leaders in the communities it seeks to serve, so that its targeted users are involved in the development process. By doing this, it aims to ensure that the types of solutions it offers are ones that the community will trust, find simple to operate, and want to use. For example, Martínez noted that autonomy regarding health is important to Indigenous Australian and Pacific Islander communities. Including them in Sonorus' development helps to address this need, building understanding and integration into the community.

"We don't want to just be like, 'here, we're going to design a solution, here you go, go ahead and use it,'" said Martínez. "Because we know a lot of the time that healthcare is partly about the solution, but it's also partly about the care in the relationship that you build with the people that are going to use it."

The future of cardiovascular diagnosis?

Credit: Zooey Liao / Masahble / Getty Images / Sonorus

Martínez believes that the untapped potential for medical use is one of the biggest blind spots regarding audio and AI research right now.

"A lot of AI [concerning sound] right now is really used for audio processing, speech to text generation, but no one's really using it for clinical applications, and so we're filling in that gap," Martínez said.

Though Sonorus is currently developing its AI solely to detect RHD, Martínez believes the technology could be applied to other medical conditions as well. The hope is that, in the future, Sonorus will be able to screen for multiple different cardiovascular conditions with just one simple test.

"Honestly, that would be the goal," Martínez said. "We're starting with rheumatic heart disease, so we want to make sure that we get this one right, and make sure that the solution works. And then from there, because AI algorithms are so easily scalable and applicable to different things... we want to move to other valvular diseases as well."

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Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, previously filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Using ChatGPT Health? Read this first.

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Step aside, WebMD — health advice has become the most common way people use ChatGPT.

The chatbot's parent company, OpenAI, reported that 40 million people query ChatGPT daily to decode convoluted medical bills, appeal unfair insurance claims, or manage their own treatment. According to a February Gallup poll, nearly 16 percent of U.S. adults already use AI or social media to find medical information.

Meanwhile, Americans owe over $220 billion in medical debt, according to 2024 figures. The country's health workforce currently faces widespread shortages, with high turnover rates for first-year nurses and a need for 114,000 more physicians by 2028 to meet demand. Around half of Americans reported struggling to afford healthcare last year, as the federal government narrowed Affordable Care Act subsidies.

In the eyes of many, the healthcare system has broken.

Meanwhile, widespread AI adoption has been touted as a solution for an overburdened medical system. Narrowly-designed, clinical-grade AI, trained for specific tasks, could potentially revolutionize imaging, patient charting, and insurance processing. But AI developers aren't stopping there — they want AI in the patient's hands, too.

In January, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, the company's free, consumer-facing solution for those seeking health guidance — and anyone willing to upload their medical histories for the chatbot to digest. The idea of outsourcing medical questions to ChatGPT Health may sound alluring to many, especially to the uninsured and those already staring down hospital bills, but privacy experts tell Mashable that people should proceed with caution when sharing health info with a chatbot.

Digital doctor or privacy nightmare?

ChatGPT Health, which incentivizes users to upload their personal medical records for tailored medical assistance, was announced on Jan. 7, promising to "securely" link your health information with ChatGPT’s brain. In the months since, other tech companies have followed suit, including the recently announced Amazon Health AI assistant and Microsoft Copilot Health.

Not everyone sees Health GPTs and other AI-related health tools as a net positive.

"Generative AI chatbot products starting to spin off into these healthcare-adjacent submarkets is deeply concerning," Melodi Dinçer, senior staff attorney for the Tech Justice Law Project, told Mashable.

In the hours following ChatGPT Health's launch, Dinçer published a scathing statement characterizing OpenAI's release as a strategic business move to access more personal data while jeopardizing the privacy of struggling Americans. The Tech Justice Law Project is currently representing individuals suing OpenAI over mental health concerns with ChatGPT.

You're creating a larger ecosystem in this non-HIPAA covered space.

Other privacy watchdogs said their alarm bells went off, too.

"We don't have a comprehensive federal privacy law in the United States," explained Andrew Crawford, senior policy counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology's Data and Privacy Project. At least, he said, none that puts real limits on how companies handle consumer data, especially sensitive data sets.

Tech companies, including Meta and OpenAI, have lobbied to keep robust privacy laws off the books, and government officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio have pushed for less regulation of American tech companies.

In the absence of federal regulation on data, Americans are provided a patchwork of state-level laws and industry-specific regulations, including protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.

A new Mashable series, AI + Health, will examine how artificial intelligence is changing the medical and health landscape. We'll explore how to use AI to decipher your blood work, effectively prompt chatbots when it comes to health questions, how two women are using AI to detect a dangerous form of heart disease, and much more.

Passed in 1996, HIPAA established a federal standard for protecting patient medical data and related identifying information in cases where data is shared with or without patient consent. Its Privacy Rule has also become a benchmark for assessing a medical product's privacy standards.

HIPAA, however, isn't a failsafe. Its protections aren't attached to data itself, explained Crawford, but to the institutions that process and store it. Consumer data is shielded only when it's in the hands of an institution bound by HIPAA laws, not when it exists in other marketplaces or is stored elsewhere online.

Institutions bound by HIPAA laws are known as covered entities. This includes health insurance companies, HMOs, company health plans, and other coverage providers like Medicaid and Medicare; most (but not all) care providers like doctors, dentists, psychologists, nursing homes, and even chiropractors; and, finally, clearinghouses, or businesses that process and transmit health data. Anyone that does business with one of those entities, like a lawyer or billing company, is also under HIPAA's oversight.

Oura, Apple, Strava: Personal wellness apps and ChatGPT Health

Most popular health apps are not covered by HIPAA, according to the HIPAA Journal. Not your Oura ring, Apple Health app, or running buddy Strava. When you share your data with something like ChatGPT Health, even if you use it to inform your conversations with a covered entity later, that information is not legally bound by anything outside of the company's privacy policy.

But many, like OpenAI, promise that data is being treated carefully.

We are buying into this idea that something so complex as health can be reduced to numbers on a screen.

Covered entities are blocked by law from using your data for things like targeted advertising or user behavioral profiles, without authorization. But any other companies that get a hold of your medical information can do whatever they please, in accordance with their own privacy policies, Crawford says.

Lily Li, a data privacy and AI risk management attorney and founder of Metaverse Law, explained company privacy policies often include reasonable security protocols and opt-out features, but aren't required to include HIPAA oversights like specific authorization, time limitations on storing data, or disclosure obligations.

Take the case of DNA processing site 23andMe, which, upon filing for bankruptcy, announced it would be selling itself and its library of DNA samples to a company that users hadn't consented to consult with. Medical information, Dinçer explained, is one of the most valuable markets for data brokers online.

Many AI companies have erected walls between versions of their product that are compliant with laws like HIPAA and those that aren't, including the "enterprise level" products touted by OpenAI and its competitors. These aren't the same products being marketed for use by the general public. For example, OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Healthcare, a HIPAA compliant version for health professionals not to be confused with ChatGPT Health, one day later. That same week, Anthropic announced HIPAA-compliant Claude for Healthcare.

Much like ChatGPT Health, Microsoft's Copilot Health is not HIPAA compliant but guided by internal privacy policies. The company explains, "data in Copilot Health is protected with industry leading safeguards, including encryption at rest and in transit, strict access controls, and the ability to manage and delete your information when you choose."

Amazon Health AI, on the other hand, is automatically looped into HIPAA compliance as an offering underneath Amazon One Medical.

The situation starts to get real confusing, real fast for the average consumer.

This muddled privacy grey area is where fitness and wellness apps have thrived, hinging their marketplace clearance on the distinction between a product that seeks to provide treatment versus one that operates merely as a health "assistant." It's why you will almost always see a note emblazoned across the app: Consult with your doctor.

Now enter LLM products, which not only gather data from users' chats, but also emphatically encourage uploading your personal medical records and linking third-party apps — like MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers, or Apple Health and its wearables — to get the "best" results from your chatbot. Many of these fitness apps have previously come under fire for tracking users without consent and illegally collecting data.

Copilot Health, for example, is compatible with more than 50 wearable wellness devices, Microsoft says, including Oura rings and Fitbit watches. Amazon initially incentivized Amazon One Medical users to upload their personal medical information by offering early Health AI access to those who consented. "You do not have to allow One Medical to access your health records to use Health AI. However, to ensure the best experience, we are prioritizing early access to Health AI to those who do," wrote Amazon in early versions of the product's FAQ.

"You're creating a larger ecosystem in this non-HIPAA covered space, where health data is being shared and used by lots of companies," Crawford said. "That's going to create large troves of sensitive health data that all these companies will be in possession of."

Opting Out vs. Opting in

Dinçer also flagged that ChatGPT Health isn't being piloted to people in the European Union or the UK — places with more robust consumer data privacy laws and, specifically, requirements that data collection is opt-in.

Most U.S. law is an opt-out system, Dinçer explained, which places the onus on users to be aware of privacy laws and pay attention to the minutiae of a non-HIPAA product's terms of service. Often U.S. consumers are up against intentionally deceptive design, like confusing language and complicated interfaces referred to as dark patterns, that make rules on data storage difficult to parse.

"We see these endemic, horrible practices around actually safeguarding our personal information when in the hands of these kinds of companies," Dinçer said. "There's no indication to me that that's suddenly going to change just because the technology looks a little different or you're disclosing it to something that feels like an intelligent conversation partner."

Over the years, state laws have started to catch up, Li said. California recently expanded its Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA), outlining unlawful uses of sensitive data and requiring a patient's written authorization to disclose medical information. Washington state passed the My Health My Data Act in 2023, considered one of the strongest consumer data privacy laws in the country.

Even so, there are exceptions across state and federal laws.

One day before ChatGPT Health launched, the FDA announced it would be limiting its regulation of wearable technology and associated software designed to foster "healthy lifestyles." These technologies and others like fitness trackers are considered "low-risk non-medical devices," and as long as they don't make any diagnoses or treatment claims, they fall out of the FDA's strict oversight.

Two weeks after the ChatGPT Health announcement, OpenAI announced it was in the early design stages of its first AI wearable device.

Medical "partners" in the era of AI

A recent report by healthcare research nonprofit ECRI argued that AI chatbots are the "most significant health technology hazard" heading into 2026, citing risks of AI models perpetuating bias and exacerbating existing health disparities.

Similarly, many experts warn that LLMs aren't yet robust enough to effectively curb misinformation. A recent Guardian investigation found that Google's AI overviews often spat out inaccurate, gender-biased medical answers and could pose a public health risk. A study published in Nature Medicine in February found that ChatGPT Health failed to effectively triage medical emergencies and make appropriate care recommendations when compared to real-world physicians.

And the expansion of tech companies into the medical sphere poses additional concerns about the law. Will companies like OpenAI be subject to further inquiry from law enforcement requesting personal health or chat log data? What would that mean for people with stigmatized health conditions or precarious legal statuses, including people seeking reproductive healthcare, abortions, and gender-affirming care?

"We're already conditioned to think it's OK or normal to go to the internet with our health inquiries, sharing really intimate information online and with commercial products," Dinçer said. "We are buying into this idea that something so complex as health can be reduced to numbers on a screen."

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Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, previously filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

AI is changing health: Heres what you should know

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

A growing number of medical professionals and consumers alike are now leaning on AI to manage health in new ways, and tech companies are competing to meet the demand.

AI health products can generate patient visit notes for physicians and help consumers learn insights about their health at home. Even with all the possible upsides, experts recommend caution, particularly for consumers who share sensitive medical and personal information with an AI-powered device or chatbot, or buy into AI health offerings that haven't yet been proven as effective or safe.

With the January launch of ChatGPT Health, a sister experience to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the public has a new option for seeking medical guidance. ChatGPT Health, like Claude for Healthcare and Microsoft Copilot Health, allows users to upload medical records and data from wellness apps to AI assistants, ostensibly providing more accurate guidance.

The fact that ChatGPT Health is free (for now) may prove enticing to some of the 25 million uninsured Americans or those worried about medical debt — Americans currently owe over $220 billion to healthcare providers.

And many are already turning to AI-powered sources. A KFF health tracking poll released this month found that a third of U.S. adults used AI for information or advice about their physical health in the last year. Those numbers are on par with those seeking health advice from social media, according to KFF.

Health AI: Reducing costs, growing access

Health-centered AI may be a good option for those anxious about healthcare expenses because it has the potential to reduce costs through early diagnosis, according to Harvard's School of Public Health.

While the majority of people polled by KFF said they turned to AI because it provided quick, immediate answers, about a fifth cited not having access to a provider or being unable to afford an appointment as motivations. Health-trained chatbots could help patients better understand their bodies and provide helpful insight before they visit their doctor, according to companies like Amazon, which recently launched its Amazon Health AI.

Carri Chan is Faculty Director, Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management Program at Columbia Business School, and also leads Columbia's AI+Healthcare initiative. Chan has many reservations about patients substituting human-centered care for AI. Still, she believes that AI tools, including a correctly executed, specially trained AI chatbot, could help reduce costs and increase access to care.

"The fact that [tech companies] are curating and at least training a model specifically for [health], thank goodness," Chan says. "That's what we really need. We don't want something that's been trained on all the data on the internet where we know there's a lot of misinformation and just, like, garbage information." In other words, the data needs to be high-quality and validated.

Chan generally sees the greatest promise coming from AI tools specifically designed to improve healthcare delivery.

KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust (Feb. 24-Mar. 2, 2026) Credit: KFF

A new Mashable series, AI + Health, will examine how artificial intelligence is changing the medical and health landscape. We'll explore how to keep your health data safe, using AI to decipher your blood work, prompting chatbots effectively when it comes to health questions, how two women are using AI to detect a dangerous form of heart disease, and more.

AI privacy, hallucination concerns in healthcare

Many health industry experts advise proceeding with caution when using health-centered AI, especially if you’re uploading medical documents or private health information. Privacy watchdogs are particularly worried about chatbot products entering the world of healthcare without federal regulation, Mashable learned.

Aside from privacy concerns, there is the possibility that AI hallucinations could steer patients down rabbit holes of misinformation, or that AI could further reinforce medical biases. Recent studies on health-related AI queries showed that chatbots sometimes dispense unreliable information, with ChatGPT Health under-triaging slightly more than half of the cases presented to it.

AI health tools: Proceeding — with caution

Experts suggest that anyone using health-related AI products test the models with known inaccuracies first, frame questions carefully, and check where chatbots get their answers, ensuring they come from reliable sources like medical organizations — not Reddit.

While there is much to be skeptical about when it comes to AI’s role in health, experts including Dr. Robert Wachter, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, are optimistic about the role health-centered AI can play in bettering people's lives. Wachter views products like ChatGPT Health as a significant improvement over a Google search when it comes to investigating symptoms or deciphering medical jargon.

And Wachter thinks the chatbots will only get better and more accurate with time. For now, Wachter stresses prompting the AI as clearly as possible, fact-checking the responses, and then taking that information to a human medical professional — and skipping right over AI and heading to a hospital when experiencing a potentially life-threatening emergency like severe chest pain.

"You put something into [Chat]GPT or Gemini, and what you get back is better than what you would have gotten back in Google," Wachter says. "The downside is the tools are imperfect and can do everything from giving you really smart answers to answers that are just downright wrong."

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Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, previously filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Google: Teens cant treat Gemini like a companion

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

On Tuesday, Google shared for the first time details about how its AI chatbot Gemini is designed not to act like a companion or claim to be human when interacting with minors.

The information, published by the company in a blog post, was announced among changes to better support the mental health of users engaging with Gemini.

Child safety and mental health experts have long worried that companion-like chatbots are too dangerous for teens to use. Last year, the advocacy group Common Sense Media rated the teen and under-13 versions of Gemini as "high risk" after its researchers determined that the chatbot exposed kids to inappropriate content, including sex, drugs, alcohol, and unsafe mental health "advice."

The group recommended that no one under 18 turn to an AI chatbot for companionship or mental health support.

Google said that Gemini has "persona protections" when engaging with under-18 users. The longstanding constraints are designed to prevent emotional dependence and avoid "language that simulates intimacy or expresses needs," according to Google. Other safeguards should help discourage the chatbot from bullying and other types of harassment.

"Our safety efforts continue to evolve and reflect our ongoing commitment to creating a healthy and positive digital environment where young people can explore and learn with confidence," Google said in the company's blog post.

Google also announced that it updated Gemini to streamline resources for users who may seek or need mental health resources. A new "one-touch" interface will offer varied connections to crisis hotline resources, including via chat, call, and text.

That interface will appear throughout a conversation with Gemini once it's activated. Google said that it is trying to prioritize helping users receive human support. Additionally, Gemini's responses are supposed to encourage help-seeking instead of validating harmful behaviors and confirming false beliefs.

In March, Google and its parent company Alphabet, were sued by the family of an adult man who allege he killed himself at Gemini's urging.

"Gemini is designed not to encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm," Google said in a statement at the time. "Our models generally perform well in these types of challenging conversations and we devote significant resources to this, but unfortunately AI models are not perfect."

Need a new smartwatch? The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is on sale and selling fast

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:15:56 +0000

SAVE 17%: As of April 6, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 for $289.99, down from $349.99, at Amazon. That's a 17% discount or a $60 price cut.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 (40mm, Bluetooth, Graphite Band)

$289.99 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $60

If you prefer Android over iOS, Mashable's freelance tech reviewer, Adam Doud, says the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is "worth the upgrade" — and right now, you can grab it on sale.

As of April 6, you can snag the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 for $289.99 at Amazon, down from $349.99. That's a 17% discount or $60 savings.

When it comes to health metrics, the Galaxy Watch 8 can "track just about everything you do." It features a running coach, heart rate tracking, and an Advanced Sleep Coach that assigns you a "sleep animal" based on how you snooze (which is kind of fun, IMO). Plus, it's the very first smartwatch to run Google Gemini AI right on the watch face, and it features a unique "squircle" design (a round face on a rounded-square base) that sits thinner and flatter on your wrist.

"In theory, if you follow the advice of the watch without outright dismissing it, it can help you live a better life," writes Doud. "And you'll look good doing it."

What to do when playing Wordle becomes addictive

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 21:29:04 +0000

Late last year, weeks into a winning streak, meditation teacher and mindfulness coach Tim Hwang noticed something had changed about his Wordle habit.

The New York Times puzzle challenges players to guess a five-letter word in six tries. Simple enough in itself, but Hwang had become overly focused on his stats. Revealing the word in the fewest possible guesses is a badge of honor for players. Long streaks also afford bragging rights. And Hwang began to feel like he was clinging to his record.

"I started noticing that by day 40 of the streak that it just felt like an obligation to actually do the puzzle," Hwang told Mashable. "I didn't [enjoy] solving the problems. It was a relief just to complete it to keep my streak alive."

Meanwhile, what had begun as a pleasurable text exchange with friends about their results had curdled for Hwang into painful comparisons over who'd solved the puzzle and in how many tries.

The joy of playing had fizzled. He'd become competitive about Wordle, and arguably even addicted. Hwang decided to stop playing for months — and would only return to the game after identifying ways to apply the skills he'd learned as a meditation teacher.

Crucially, he didn't believe the mindfulness problem was with Wordle itself. "The games can be really fun…and you get this flow and meditative state," Hwang says. "There's no multitasking. You're just problem solving, and you're just trying to figure out a puzzle. That can be really, really gratifying."

Hwang returned to Wordle two months ago. Now he sets clear intentions for playing, focuses on connection instead of competition, treats losses with a sense of radical acceptance, and remains aware of and curious about the feeling that he's clinging to victory.

In short, he'd figured out how to preserve the best elements of online word games without playing obsessively and mindlessly.

Reckoning with Wordle and Spelling Bee obsession

I'd reached out to Hwang to learn more about his bittersweet experience because earlier this year, I'd started playing Wordle and two other Times games, Spelling Bee and Crossplay.

Solving low-stakes puzzles thrilled my brain; I love words and enjoy spelling. Spelling Bee gives the player seven letters, one of which must be used in each word spelled. Crossplay, which I play with my mom, is the Times' version of Scrabble, or Words with Friends. Time spent on the puzzles felt like an indulgence in a fast-paced life.

But, like Hwang, I came to realize that playing the games sparked something less wholesome in me. When I accidentally lost a 28-day Wordle streak because I forgot to complete the puzzle, the sting of disappointment felt out of proportion to the loss.

I would wake up and feel an urgency to finish my physical therapy and yoga routine in time to start making Wordle and Spelling Bee guesses before my kids got out of bed at 7 a.m. I felt unsettled if I hadn't reached the highest Spelling Bee level — genius — before the day's end.

The games also drew my attention to my phone more frequently, and that in itself was a habit I'd been trying to pare back. So I decided to use a notebook for Spelling Bee, which I typically solve in chunks throughout the day.

Now instead of staring at my phone, I write down the day's letters, along with the hints (don't judge me), and wait until I've guessed roughly half the possible words. Then I allow myself a break from work or parenting to put them in all at once. I sometimes use my laptop browser to play, which minimizes the types of distractions I often experience on my phone.

I also learned a valuable lesson from the Global Day of Unplugging, during which I abandoned my phone, as much as I could, for 24 hours. That meant no Wordle, Spelling Bee, or Crossplay, and no streaks. I craved the games initially, but the discomfort eventually resolved, and I felt peaceful instead. Now days can pass when I don't play, and I genuinely don't mind breaking a streak.

These strategies worked for me, but what about others? I decided to learn more from mindfulness experts about how to course correct when an online word game has become the object of obsession.

Set your playing intentions

Tara Anderson, a producer for the mindfulness podcast 10% Happier with Dan Harris, had a New York Times online crossword streak of more than 1,000 puzzles. Then she missed a single day.

Anderson, who has practiced meditation for more than 30 years, said the streak lapse put into stark relief just how invested she'd become in solving the puzzles.

"It was like, 'Oh, maybe I've been clinging to this too much," she told Mashable. "It was this bubble popping, and I saw it didn't mean anything anyway. And then I did the crossword puzzle again the next day. I do it now because I really enjoy the challenge."

Anderson, who also plays Wordle and Spelling Bee, now approaches her word games with a simple thought in mind, courtesy of a colleague: "Am I doing this on purpose or not on purpose?" That deceptively simple question helps clarify Anderson's game-playing intentions.

Though she's not clinging to streaks, the games can feel like a distraction from uncomfortable feelings or situations — even if they seem a more virtuous distraction than, say, TikTok. If that's the case, she tries to mindfully notice what's happening beneath the surface of her interest in playing.

Like me, Anderson believes Spelling Bee's special badges for solving specific words and reaching certain thresholds, like Genius, can feel like getting a gold star. Rewards can make games fun, but they also pose challenges for the player who wants to solve the puzzle for the sake of doing so.

Focus on your goals

Toby Sola, founder of the meditation app Brightmind, says games are a rewarding way to engage the mind and connect with others. They can also support a meditation or mindfulness practice, building important skills such as noticing your feelings without judgement, and identifying positive and negative behaviors.

The trick, Sola says, is making sure the game remains aligned with your values, specifically your goals — sharpening your mind, say, or playing with a family member — and how you want to spend your time.

"Emphasize the playfulness, emphasize the connection, emphasize the gaming functions to the extent that they align with your values, but then de-emphasize all the other stuff," Sola says.

Anderson, for example, spends time with her kids and husband solving Spelling Bee. She's also decided to disregard the in-game awards, even if she enjoys them at the moment.

"I really don't pay attention to the streaks anymore or badges. Sometimes it's cool when it pops up," she says, referencing a panagram award for guessing a word that uses all available letters, "but what does it actually mean?"

How Wordle is like a meditation practice

Meditation teacher Tim Hwang acknowledges that some days the games deliver on the promise of that meditative or flow state. But sometimes the puzzle might frustrate him, exposing deeper feelings about perfectionism and shame.

This dynamic, Hwang says, is no different than an actual meditation practice — in which some days are "amazing" and on others you feel thwarted, all depending on what's happening in your life and in the world around you.

When negative feelings bleed into the gameplay, Hwang recommends observing them with curiosity and being introspective about the factors driving your emotions.

"Now I only play when I feel like I want to play it, and not like it's something I have to do."

Hwang also asks himself whether his game strategies are partly responsible. If he's trying to solve Wordle in the fewest guesses possible or is worried about his stats, his satisfaction in the game can plummet.

"Am I putting a lot of pressure on myself or am I going to enjoy this as a leisure activity?" Hwang asks. "These are prompts you can ask yourself in real time and reflect on."

Hwang also accepts loss as a reality and feels compassion for himself when he doesn't solve a puzzle or breaks a streak.

Ultimately, Hwang feels like he's found his balance with Wordle.

"Now I only play when I feel like I want to play it, and not like it's something I have to do," he says. "I don't hold it as an obligation anymore."

Fitness trackers are the highlight of Amazons Big Spring Sale closing day — save $100 on Apple and Garmin

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:05:21 +0000

The best Amazon Big Spring Sale fitness tracker deals at a glance:

Best Fitbit deal

Fitbit Inspire 3

$69.95 (save $30)

Best Apple deal

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 (save $100)

Best Google deal

Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 415mm)

$339.99 (save $60)

Best budget deal

Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro

$69 (save $30)

Best Samsung deal

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm)

$369.99 (save $130)

Best Garmin deal

Garmin Forerunner 265

$344.99 (save $105)

Best Garmin alternative

Suunto Run Sports Watch

$179 (save $20)

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is almost over (it officially wraps up at 11:59 p.m. PT on March 31), but the discounts are still holding strong. We've spotted tons of deals on TVs, outdoor gear, robot vacuums, and speakers, but high-end fitness trackers are quietly getting some of the best price drops of the entire event.

Because we test wearables year-round, we know a good deal when we see one. Right now, the Mashable Choice Award-winning Fitbit Inspire 3 is down to $69.95 (30% off). If you're an iPhone user, the Apple Watch Series 11 is now just $299 (25% off). They're both sitting at record-low prices alongside the 45mm Google Pixel Watch 4, which is on sale for $339.99 (15% off).

Whether you prefer Garmin, Google, or an Apple Watch, now's the time to buy because we probably won't see discounts like this again until Prime Day.

Here are all the best fitness tracker deals you can shop at Amazon on the final day of the Big Spring Sale 2026.

Best Fitbit deal

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Inspire 3

$69.95 at Amazon
$99.95 Save $30

Why we like it

If you just want a reliable, no-frills tracker that won't cost more than your gym membership, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is our favorite budget pick. It's normally priced right around $100, but for the Big Spring Sale, it's down to a very affordable $69.95 — an all-time low.

In our review, Mashable's Sam Stone calls it the "budget-friendly fitness tracker of our dreams." It sits easily on the wrist and automatically categorizes your activities (so it knows if you're out for a bike ride or a run) without you having to manually mess with the settings.

Because we actually test these things, we do have to mention a couple of minor quirks. Stone says that the heart rate monitor can occasionally get a little inaccurate if your wrist gets super sweaty during an intense workout. Also, the battery life is closer to six or seven days rather than the advertised 10. But considering it fully charges in under two hours, that's barely an inconvenience — and as Stone points out, it "sure beats the Apple Watch's battery life."

Read Mashable's full review of the Fitbit Inspire 3.

More Fitbit deals

Fitbit Google Ace LTE Kids — $99.95 ~~$179.95~~ (save $80)
Fitbit Charge 6 — $119.95 ~~$159.95~~ (save $40)
Fitbit Versa 4 — $149.95 ~~$199.95~~ (save $50)
Fitbit Sense 2 — $199.95 ~~$249.95~~ (save $50)

Best Google deal

Credit: Google

Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 45mm)

$339.99 at Amazon
$399.99 Save $60

Why we like it

If you aren't already rocking last year's model, the Google Pixel Watch 4 is an easy recommendation — especially while it's $60 off for the Big Spring Sale.

Mashable’s former Senior Culture Reporter, Christianna Silva, said that while it looks similar to the previous version from afar, the new domed design "gives the smartwatch more depth and makes it feel more spacious and modern." One of the coolest upgrades is the new serviceable design. If you're handy with a tiny screwdriver, you can "open up the watch, and fix what you need to fix — including replacing the display and battery — all without breaking your warranty," Silva wrote. It also features a custom haptics engine that’s 15 percent stronger and a much crisper speaker for when you're chatting with Gemini.

Read Mashable's full review of the Google Pixel Watch 4.

More Google deals

~~Google Pixel Watch 3 (WiFi, 45mm)~~ — $179.99 ~~$299.99 (save $120)~~
~~Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 41mm)~~ — $289.99 ~~$349.99 (save $60)~~

Best Apple deal

Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100

Why we like it

If you're looking for a solid Apple Watch deal, this $100 price drop on the Series 11 makes it a pretty stellar value. It's been chilling at this price for a while now, and while the Big Spring Sale hasn't dropped it any lower, $299 for the newest Apple Watch ain't bad. In our review, Mashable's Senior Editor, Stan Schroeder, says the Series 11 has a significantly longer battery life compared to its predecessor. "When I got my unit, I charged it to 100 percent and started wearing it at about 4 p.m. I wore it during the night (my sleep score was 81, which sounds a lot better than it felt), and the next day at 4 p.m. it was still at 38 percent," he writes. "That day, I charged it to full power late in the evening, and I only had to charge it again two days later."

It also has a tougher design with Ion-X glass that's twice as resistant to scratches, and a Sleep Score and hypertension notifications for flagging high blood pressure.

Read Mashable's full review of the Apple Watch Series 11.

More Apple Watch deals

Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) — $219 ~~$249~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 44mm) — $249 ~~$279~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) — $269 ~~$299~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 44mm) — $299 ~~$329~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) — $329 ~~$429~~ (save $100)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 42mm) — $399 ~~$499~~ (save $100)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 46mm) — $399 ~~$529~~ (save $130)
Apple Watch Ultra 2 (GPS + Cellular 49mm) — $499 ~~$799~~ (save $300)

Even more Amazon Big Spring Sale fitness tracker deals

Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro — $69 ~~$99~~ (save $30)
Amazfit Active 2 Sport — $79.99 ~~$99.99~~ (save $20)
Amazfit Active 2 Premium — $104.99 ~~$129.99~~ (save $25)
~~Garmin vívoactive 5~~ — $174.28 ~~$269.99 (save $95.71)~~
Suunoto Run Sports Watch — $179 ~~$199~~ (save $20)
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Bluetooth, 40mm) — $195 ~~$249.99~~ (save $54.99)
Garmin Forerunner 165 — $199.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $50)
Garmin Forerunner 265 — $344.99 ~~$449.99~~ (save $105)
~~Garmin Venu 3S~~ — $357.99 ~~$449.99 (save $92)~~
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm) — $369.99 ~~$499.99~~ (save $130)
~~Garmin Forerunner 570~~ — $497.49 ~~$549.99 (save $52.50)~~
Garmin Forerunner 965 — $499.99 ~~$599.99~~ (save $100)
Garmin Venu 4 (45mm) — $510.99 ~~$599.99~~ (save $89)

Smash your personal best with a record-breaking deal on Peloton — save $400 in the Big Spring Sale

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:13:08 +0000

TL;DR: As of March 30, the Peloton Bike is marked down to $1,295 in the Amazon Spring Sale. That's 24% off the list price of $1,695.

Credit: Peloton

Peloton Bike

$1,295 at Amazon
$1,695 Save $400

The Amazon Big Spring Sale will keep pedalling until March 31. It’s an awesome opportunity to pick up tech, TVs, and expensive fitness equipment that can really make a difference day-to-day. Case in point is this Peloton Bike, a popular brand of exercise bike that combines with online training sessions to raise your fitness game. They come with a premium price tag, so a massive $400 discount might be the incentive you need to invest in your wellbeing.

The Peloton Bike is now down to $1,295 in the Big Spring Sale. That’s a 24% reduction on the regular list price of $1,695. According to camelcamelcamel, it’s the biggest ever price drop for this bike — a record-breaking deal.

For those who don’t know the brilliance of Peloton, this bike comes equipped with a tablet-like screen. You sign up for a Peloton membership and gain access to fitness classes hosted by top trainers, with training programs tailored towards your specific fitness goals. You can set your own goals and take it at your own pace — you’ll see the results in no time.

Jump on this Peloton Bike before the Big Spring Sale wraps up on March 31. Now priced at $1,295 for a saving of $400.

TikToks mindfulness tips are getting better. These 3 worked for me

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

TikTok has long been full of efficiency-driven wellness influencers offering tips on how to become more grounded, more calm, and more mindful. But over the last two years, a new era of TikTok influencing has risen. One that is less perfectionist — and more practical.

Back in 2024, the last time we investigated the state of mindfulness TikTok tips, what we found was a mix of traditional meditation routines, ASMR sound bath videos, and jargon-filled advice on "optimization." If I had followed the advice of the most watched mindfulness videos back then, my day might have looked something like this:

Wake up early. Do guided meditation and/ or yoga.
Breakfast. No external stimulation. Soak up the day.
Get to work, girlboss.
Time for a mid-day walk. Remember: No external sounds! Stay present.
Work some more. Check in with your body and do some breathwork at your desk.
Dinner and after work activities. Allotted time for fun starts now.
Journal about the day. Junk journaling is allowed, so long as you make it visually pleasing.
Before bed: No screens, sleep sounds on. Nighty night.

This may at least be more achievable than most "biohacking" self-optimization routines that go viral online. But it's still a daunting list. I attempted to follow this routine at the time. According to my notes, this is what I actually managed:

Wake up at 8 am. Stretch and do a breathing meditation (via free trials on Open or Moments or Breathwrk).
Try my best to finish all my tasks at work, fueled by at least two coffees and one sandwich. Read during lunch because it's the only time I have. Oh, the sun is gone now.
Cook dinner, something I earnestly love to do. Crash on the couch with my roommate and a movie.
Get ready for bed. Feel weird about journaling because I spent all day writing and what do I have to say about it? Another breathing exercise. Sleep.

The exhausting effort to match up to TikTok's image of perfection left me pessimistic. I do well with a routine, ask any of my friends, but I simply wasn't interested in the apps and activities TikTok said I should try. Even if they were backed by science, they didn't feel like me.

But that was then. In 2026, TikTok's mindfulness culture (like the world itself) has changed dramatically — and this time, more in need of personal calm than ever, I found three mindfulness trends that actually worked.

Brainrot is the enemy: picking apart 75 Smart

I may not like TikTok telling me what to do, but I do love feeling smarter. So as the app obsesses over curing "dopamine addiction," combating brainrot, and reclaiming attention, I can get behind trends like friction-maxxing — and I'm not opposed to 75 Smart, a riff on Andy Frisella's controversial "75 Hard" fitness regime that originally began as a simple 30-minute daily reading challenge.

75 Smart seems to have become a TikTok trend as of December 2025. In the most strict 75 Smart routine, users commit to all of this every single day: two "deep focus" learning sessions, 15 minutes of meta-learning (learning about learning), an "intellectual" creation of any kind, nonfiction reading, and a ban on consuming "low value" dopamine content.

In looser interpretations of 75 Smart — more akin to my interests — users commit to just one intellectual or creative act every day. Others take a middle ground approach, reconfiguring their daily to-do list around low stimulation goals, like silent 15-minute walks, no social media before and after work, and reading everyday. And this lower-stakes interpretation was what actually triggered small changes for me.

For example, I already read before bed every night. But instead of turning to doomscrolling once I put the book down, I began to read long articles I'd been putting off, or opted for a Wikipedia deep dive on a niche subject. Before long I returned to the breathwork apps I tried in 2024 — trying quick, 5-minute routines, often with moving visualizations so I wasn't going cold turkey on the screen altogether.

Similarly, I couldn't go for one 75 Smart suggestion, entirely silent days. To me, sound is not an enemy. But I did want to feel more grounded after leaving dreamland, so I swapped out my usual mix of news podcasts, music, and the latest tabletop RPG session for Apple Music's "Sollos" playlists.

This "audio-wellness venture" was launched in 2025, a collaboration with Universal Music Group, Apple Music, and a team of cognitive scientists to transform their music catalogues into audio experiences that promote focus, relaxation, and sleep. "Songs have been enhanced with auditory beats or colored noise to help encourage specific brain responses," Apple notes — such as Gamma waves and white noise for focus, or Delta waves and pink noise for sleep.

They're not all just sound bowls and ambient music, either. I could listen to radio stalwarts like Selena Gomez, Niall Horan, and Ariana Grande. Popular DJs and some of my faves (shoutout to AURORA) feature on the playlists, too. The idea is to take what people are already listening to daily, and make it a little better. For me, it offered a smoother transition into my busy, sound-filled mornings. I found that I didn't lose as much time to the distractions of podcasts, YouTube videos, and TikToks before starting a long work day.

Credit: Mashable Screenshot / Apple Music

75 Smart doesn't completely avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism rampant on TikTok, via the same proclivity toward optimization I despised in 2024. Some 75 Smart "corporate girl edition" videos, for example, can be ruthless about "failing" at daily tasks.

So I wasn't going to succeed with a strict 75 Smart routine, but I could boost the things I already did, and add ones that fit in my life seamlessly.

Stretching like a Chinese auntie

TikTok, according to multiple reports, is at a "very Chinese time in its life." The meme, a spin on the final line of Fight Club, is partly a backlash to the U.S. government's TikTok ban threat, partly widespread interest in Chinese tech and cultural exports. Bolstered by the popularity of the Lunar New Year and Chinese Zodiac discourse, feeds are spilling over with cross-cultural exchange.

Being "spiritually Chinese" — and, yes, it is as reductive as you think it is — has led to multiple wellness trends across the app. TikTok users are hitting up traditional medicinal healing shops; Ginseng 1668 & Herbs Inc. in New York City has become a viral sensation. They're also drinking hot water before bed to get better sleep, and adopting traditional herbal face masks.

And then there's the widespread embracing of our inner Chinese aunties.

During one scroll, I came across the account of yoga practitioner @MindfulnessWithKat, advising her followers how to "stretch like a Chinese auntie." To my surprise, I already did most of Kat's auntie exercises every morning, mainly natural body movements that I know feel good and have done for years to loosen my chronically tight limbs and creaky joints.

Once I followed Kat, my feed filled up with more "auntie" guidance, including tips for more peaceful sleep and videos praising Qi Gong, an ancient movement practice similar to Tai Chi.

View this post on Instagram

I had long trained my algorithm to avoid fitness and dieting influencers, but this was different. The exercises looked like the way my body was already used to moving. So I locked in, following Kat's frequent uploads for a week, which incorporate the slow pace and tissue stretches of Yin yoga with mindful tension release.

Not a fad, not a joke, just something that works. And I loved every minute of it.

Let your hands go

My body doesn't easily sit still. I'm always completing a task or doing an errand. If I'm at rest, my hands are twirling through my hair or over a fidget device. Oh, and I don't have a mind's eye. Meditation is hard for me.

But this year, TikTok showed me that my noisy hands might actually be mindfulness tools in themselves.

Where 2024's trends beelined toward new tech — yoga apps, meditation podcasts on Spotify, the latest wearable — 2026 is all about going back to the days of yore. TikTok users are reviving old crafts in an effort to reclaim our attention spans from screens. They're obsessing over traditional lace work, needlepoint, and intricate beading projects. Fiber artists have become some of the most popular creators online.

Handcrafts are my bread and butter. I love an excuse to build something physical, or to copy art down to the finest detail. I love giving very thoughtful, time-intensive gifts fashioned with sweat and tears. So if the internet tells me I can reclaim my time and mental fortitude with a little crocheting or hand beading? Sign me up.

After discovering this connection, I rushed to whip out my macrame rope and gathered supplies to needle felt another tiny animal to add to my collection (this time, a lamb finger puppet for my niece's first birthday). I put my phone away. I locked in.

My mind is still when my hands are busy. That internal voice quiets as I hyperfocus on getting the details right. And I am awash in a sense of fulfillment seeing the result of hours of patience held right there in my hands.

I looked down at the little lamb at the tip of my pointer finger and thought: I could do this forever.

My birthday lamb <3 Credit: Chase DiBenedetto / Mashable

To sum up a week of reevaluation: TikTok's wellness influencers are finally starting to favor curiosity, critical thinking, and reflection over self-optimization. You see it in the promotion of an "anti-hustle" lifestyle, as well as the dumb phones now proliferating among the chronically online. Authenticity, including the failures that come with it, are cool now.

TikTok, often prone to romanticizing detachment and aloofness, seems to have learned an important lesson over the last two years: Presence is more important than performance.

20+ fitness tracker deals to shop in the Amazon Big Spring Sale — Garmin, Apple, and Google on sale

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:01:39 +0000

The best Amazon Big Spring Sale fitness tracker deals at a glance:

Best Apple deal

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 (save $100)

Best Garmin deal

Garmin vívoactive 5

$174.28 (save $125.71)

Best Garmin alternative

Suunto Run Sports Watch

$179 (save $20)

Best Google deal

Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 41mm)

$289.99 (save $60)

Best Nothing deal

Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro

$69 (save $30)

Best Samsung deal

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm)

$369.99 (save $130)

Best budget fitness tracker

Fitbit Inspire 3

$69.95 (save $30)

We're officially halfway through Amazon's Big Spring Sale (which wraps up on March 31), and the discounts are holding strong. We've seen tons of deals on Apple products, robot vacuums, and speakers, but high-end fitness trackers are quietly getting some of the best price drops of the entire event.

Because we test wearables year-round, we know a good deal when we see one. Right now, the Google Pixel Watch 4 (it's also a Mashable Selects winner), is down to $289.99 (14% off). If you're an iPhone user, the Apple Watch Series 11 is sitting at $299 (25% off) — which is totally worth jumping on just for the battery life upgrade alone. And if you just want a budget-friendly, no-frills tracker, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is even more affordable right now at $69.95 (30% off)

Whether you prefer Garmin, Google, or an Apple Watch, now's the time to get one because we probably won't see discounts like this again until Prime Day.

Here are all the best fitness tracker deals you can shop at Amazon throughout the Big Spring Sale 2026.

Best budget pick

Fitbit Inspire 3

$98 at Amazon

Why we like it

Read Mashable's full review of the Fitbit Inspire 3.

More Fitbit deals

Fitbit Google Ace LTE Kids — $99.95 ~~$179.95~~ (save $80)
Fitbit Charge 6 — $119.95 ~~$159.95~~ (save $40)
Fitbit Versa 4 — $149.95 ~~$199.95~~ (save $50)
Fitbit Sense 2 — $199.95 ~~$249.95~~ (save $50)

Best Google deal

Google Pixel Watch 4 (41mm, Wi-Fi, Matte Black)

$289.99 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $60

Why we like it

Read Mashable's full review of the Google Pixel Watch 4.

If you aren't already rocking last year's model, the Google Pixel Watch 4 is an easy recommendation — especially while it's $60 off for the Big Spring Sale.

Mashable’s Senior Culture Reporter, Christianna Silva, says that while it looks similar to the previous version from afar, the new domed design "gives the smartwatch more depth and makes it feel more spacious and modern." One of the coolest upgrades is the new serviceable design. If you're handy with a tiny screwdriver, you can "open up the watch, and fix what you need to fix — including replacing the display and battery — all without breaking your warranty." It also features a custom haptics engine that’s 15 percent stronger and a much crisper speaker for when you're chatting with Gemini.

More Google deals

Google Pixel Watch 3 (WiFi, 45mm) — $179.99 ~~$299.99~~ (save $120)
Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 41mm) — $289.99 ~~$349.99~~ (save $60)
Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 45mm) — $339.99 ~~$399.99~~ (save $60)

Best Apple deal

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$329 at Amazon
$399 Save $70

Why we like it

Read Mashable's full review of the Apple Watch Series 11.

It also has a tougher design with Ion-X glass that's twice as resistant to scratches, and a Sleep Score and hypertension notifications for flagging high blood pressure.

More Apple Watch deals

Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) — $219 ~~$249~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 44mm) — $249 ~~$279~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) — $289 ~~$299~~ (save $10)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 44mm) — $299 ~~$329~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) — $329 ~~$429~~ (save $100)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 42mm) — $399 ~~$499~~ (save $100)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 46mm) — $429 ~~$529~~ (save $100)

Best Garmin deal

Garmin vívoactive 5

$191.99 at Best Buy
$249.99 Save $58

Why we like it

Read Mashable's full review of the Garmin vívoactive 5.

While it's since been replaced with the newer vívoactive 6 (which is not on sale right now), the Garmin vívoactive 5 is still a really solid pick. It's a perfect all-rounder for someone who wants a fitness tracker with plenty of smartwatch features.

In our review, Mashable's Lois Mackenzie says it "feels like it closes the gap between fitness tracker and stylish smartwatch much better than the 4," adding that it reminded her of the Venu 3. It can track everything from long runs and rides to stress, sleep, and body battery, and adds high-end recovery metrics like Training Readiness — though Mackenzie did point out it lacks an altimeter for tracking elevation on trail runs. It has a bright and responsive AMOLED display, and gets up to 11 days of battery power (Apple could literally never).

I personally gifted this watch to my boyfriend (he loves it) after snagging an epic Black Friday discount, but it's now even cheaper. At $174.28, it's over 40% off and is down to the lowest price we've ever seen.

More Garmin fitness tracker deals

Garmin Forerunner 165 — $199.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $50)
Garmin Venu 3S — $357.99 ~~$449.99~~ (save $92)
Garmin Forerunner 265 — $344.95 ~~$449.99~~ (save $100)
~~Garmin Forerunner 570~~ — $497.49 ~~$549.99 (save $52.50)~~
Garmin Forerunner 965 — $499.99 ~~$599.99~~ (save $100)
Garmin Venu 4 (45mm) — $510 ~~$599.99~~ (save $89.99)

Even more Amazon Big Spring Sale fitness tracker deals

Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro — $69 ~~$99~~ (save $30)
Suunoto Run Sports Watch — $179 ~~$199~~ (save $20)
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Bluetooth, 40mm) — $199.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $50)
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm) — $369.99 ~~$499.99~~ (save $130)

20+ fitness tracker deals to shop in the Amazon Big Spring Sale — save on Garmin and Apple

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:56:23 +0000

The best Amazon Big Spring Sale fitness tracker deals at a glance:

Best Apple deal

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 (save $100)

Best Garmin deal

Garmin vívoactive 5

$174.28 (save $125.71)

Best Google deal

Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 41mm)

$289.99 (save $60)

Best Nothing deal

Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro

$69 (save $30)

Best Samsung deal

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm)

$369.99 (save $130)

Amazon's third annual Big Spring Sale runs through March 31, and while we saw a few early deals last week, the main event is finally here. Items like Apple products, robot vacuums, and speakers are heavily reduced, with more to follow. Even high-end fitness trackers got the discount treatment, with deals to be found on many brands including Garmin, Google, and of course, Apple Watches. So, if you've been looking for a fitness tracker to assist your routine, now is the perfect time to buy.

The biggest discounts we're seeing right now are on last-gen Garmin watches, but we'll be updating this list as new price drops appear. We're still keeping a close eye on a couple of big names, like Whoop and Oura, to see if they drop their prices now that the sale has started.

Here are all the best fitness tracker deals you can shop at Amazon throughout the Big Spring Sale 2026.

Best fitness tracker deal

Credit: Garmin

Garmin vívoactive 5

$174.28 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $125.71

Why we like it

While it's since been replaced with the newer vívoactive 6, the Garmin vívoactive 5 is still an excellent choice. It's a perfect all-rounder for someone who wants a fitness tracker with plenty of smartwatch features. It can track everything from long runs and rides to stress, sleep, and body battery, has a bright and responsive AMOLED display, and boasts 11 days of battery power (Apple could literally never). I personally gifted this watch to my boyfriend (he loves it) after snagging an epic Black Friday discount, but it's now even cheaper. At $174.28, it's over 40% off and is down to the lowest price we've ever seen.

Best Apple Watch deal

Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100

Why we like it

If you're looking for a solid Apple Watch deal, this $100 price drop on the Series 11 makes it a pretty stellar value. It's been chilling at this price for awhile now, so we're hoping to see the Big Spring Sale drop it down even lower. But even if it doesn't, $299 for the newest Apple Watch ain't bad. It brings significant battery improvements over its predecessor, which alone makes it worth the upgrade. It also has a tougher design with more durable glass that's twice as resistant to scratches, 5G capability for seamless connectivity, and a Sleep Score and hypertension tool for flagging high blood pressure.

More fitness tracker deals

Apple

Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) — $219 ~~$249~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 44mm) — $249 ~~$279~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) — $269 ~~$299~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 44mm) — $299 ~~$329~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) — $329 ~~$429~~ (save $100)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 42mm) — $399 ~~$499~~ (save $100)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 46mm) — $429 ~~$529~~ (save $100)

Garmin

Garmin Forerunner 165 — $199.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $50)
Garmin Venu 3S — $357.99 ~~$449.99~~ (save $92)
Garmin Forerunner 265 — $344.95 ~~$449.99~~ (save $100)
~~Garmin Forerunner 570~~ — $497.49 ~~$549.99 (save $52.50)~~
Garmin Forerunner 965 — $499.99 ~~$599.99~~ (save $100)
Garmin Venu 4 (45mm) — $510 ~~$599.99~~ (save $89.99)

Google / Fitbit

Google Fitbit Ace LTE — $99.95 ~~$179.95~~ (save $80)
Google Pixel Watch 3 (WiFi, 45mm) — $179.99 ~~$299.99~~ (save $120)
Fitbit Sense 2 — $199.95 ~~$249.95~~ (save $50)
Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 41mm) — $289.99 ~~$349.99~~ (save $60)
Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 45mm) — $339.99 ~~$399.99~~ (save $60)

Nothing

Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro — $69 ~~$99~~ (save $30)

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Bluetooth, 40mm) — $199.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $50)
~~Samsung Galaxy Ring (select sizes)~~ — $361.97 ~~$399.99 (save $38.02)~~
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm) — $369.99 ~~$499.99~~ (save $130)

20+ fitness tracker deals to shop ahead of the Amazon Big Spring Sale

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:37:00 +0000

The best Amazon Big Spring Sale fitness tracker deals at a glance:

Best Apple deal

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 (save $100)

Best Garmin deal

Garmin vívoactive 5

$174.28 (save $125.71)

Best Google deal

Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 41mm)

$289.99 (save $60)

Best Nothing deal

Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro

$79 (save $20)

Best Samsung deal

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm)

$369.99 (save $130)

Amazon's third annual Big Spring Sale kicks off March 25 (and runs through March 31), but early deals made an appearance as early as last week. Items like Apple products, robot vacuums, and speakers are heavily reduced, with more to follow. Even high-end fitness trackers got the discount treatment, with deals stamps to be found on many brands including Garmin, Google, and of course Apple Watches. So, if you've been looking for a fitness tracker to assist your routine, now is the perfect time to buy.

Deals started slow, but are starting to ramp up as the sale's official start approaches. The biggest discounts so far are on last-gen Garmin watches, but we'll be updating this list as new price drops appear. There are a couple of big names that seem to be waiting to drop deals until the official sale, like Whoop and Oura. So we'd hold off on buying those brands until the Big Spring Sale commences.

Here are all the best fitness tracker deals at Amazon leading up to and throughout the official Big Spring Sale 2026.

Best fitness tracker deal

Credit: Garmin

Garmin vívoactive 5

$174.28 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $125.71

Why we like it

Best Apple Watch deal

Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100

Why we like it

More fitness tracker deals

Apple

Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) — $219 ~~$249~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 44mm) — $249 ~~$279~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) — $269 ~~$299~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 44mm) — $299 ~~$329~~ (save $30)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) — $329 ~~$429~~ (save $100)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 42mm) — $399 ~~$499~~ (save $100)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 46mm) — $429 ~~$529~~ (save $100)

Garmin

Garmin Forerunner 165 — $199.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $50)
Garmin Venu 3S — $357.99 ~~$449.99~~ (save $92)
Garmin Forerunner 265 — $344.95 ~~$449.99~~ (save $100)
Garmin Forerunner 570 — $497.49 ~~$549.99~~ (save $52.50)
Garmin Forerunner 965 — $499.99 ~~$599.99~~ (save $100)
Garmin Venu 4 (45mm) — $510 ~~$599.99~~ (save $89.99)

Google / Fitbit

Google Fitbit Ace LTE — $99.95 ~~$179.95~~ (save $80)
Google Pixel Watch 3 (WiFi, 45mm) — $179.99 ~~$299.99~~ (save $120)
Fitbit Sense 2 — $210 ~~$249.95~~ (save $39.95)
Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 41mm) — $289.99 ~~$349.99~~ (save $60)
Google Pixel Watch 4 (WiFi, 45mm) — $339.99 ~~$399.99~~ (save $60)

Nothing

Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro — $79 ~~$99~~ (save $20)

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Bluetooth, 40mm) — $199.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $50)
Samsung Galaxy Ring (select sizes) — $361.97 ~~$399.99~~ (save $38.02)
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm) — $369.99 ~~$499.99~~ (save $130)

Why friction-maxxing could be good for your tech usage

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year, columnist and sociologist Kathryn Jezer-Morton coined the term "friction-maxxing." It was her attempt to describe the importance of doing hard things in order to reclaim our humanity from our algorithmic overlords. And it stuck.

Jezer-Morton had spent months contemplating the concept of escapism, and whether it still existed in a world where tech companies suggest life itself as an inconvenience to be avoided with their "frictionless" user experiences. In January, her friction-maxxing manifesto appeared in The Cut as a New Year's resolution.

Reading, talking, moving, leaving the house, thinking, interacting with strangers, risking an unexpected reaction, speaking at all — "these are all frictions we can now eliminate easily," the column noted. "And we do," she added, to our detriment.

The advice to friction-maxx wasn't really for herself.

"The way that I live, I think, is probably higher friction than average," says Jezer-Morton, who is also the author of the forthcoming book The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything.

She confesses to being one of those "annoying" people who shops at the grocery store every day instead of ordering delivery online (it helps that she lives within walking distance of the store). Plenty of adult professionals have swapped at-home socializing for screen time, unconsciously or not. Jezer-Morton invites friends over for impromptu meals, no matter the state of her home.

It's not that Jezer-Morton is entirely without digital crutches. She relishes periods of isolation and has a tendency to communicate with friends via "epic" voice memos, sent via text.

"It's definitely the thing that I know I need to change about my life if I want to enact the things that I actually feel really strongly about," Jezer-Morton says. That's why she's trying to wean herself from voice memos.

Her progress so far? "We've gone from, like, zero to one." She's not motivated by any kind of perfect score, but has seen how her relationships and sense of belonging in the world improve whenever she talks on the phone with friends.

So far, Jezer-Morton has resisted the tendency to turn friction-maxxing into a prescriptive checklist — which would be a very human tendency, she notes. "We just can't be stopped," she says. "We're going to metabolize information for the sake of optimization if it's the literal last thing we do."

Other experts, asked about the concept of friction-maxxing, say the approach could play a valuable role in reorienting yourself away from tech dependency and back toward embracing the effort that makes people feel genuinely alive and fulfilled.

The pitfalls to avoid: Adding friction without thoughtful direction and purpose, and trying to optimize your life in the pursuit of a proverbial gold star. In other words, don't live and die by friction-maxxing streaks.

Why friction leads to fulfillment

Dr. Gloria Mark, the Chancellor's Professor Emerita of Informatics at the University of California at University of California at Irvine, has studied human-computer interaction for decades. At first, industry's goal was to build easy-to-use hardware for widespread adoption.

"I think we've been riding this wave of making tech easier and easier to use, and I just think we've gone too far," says Mark, who is also the author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity.

It's not just that devices are designed for ease of use in themselves — it's that they're increasingly designed to make our lives easier. Mark doesn't believe in rejecting all conveniences this affords — after all, some of it is beneficial. Yet we've gotten to the point where people are so absorbed by their devices that it can be difficult for them to walk down a hallway without clutching a phone.

If friction-maxxing can be an antidote to that overcorrection, Mark is all for it, with caveats. The practice shouldn't be limited to routinely putting a device out of reach or rejecting its various conveniences, like food delivery and online shopping. That's just the first step.

Mark recommends subsequently putting effort into activities that "deepen" you — like reading a book, spending time on a passion project, or using technology mindfully, in pursuit of a very specific goal.

Each of these actions requires exerting yourself in ways that can feel unfamiliar after growing accustomed to a fast-and-easy lifestyle. A book demands your attention without an immediate payoff, unlike the short-form videos you may binge on at the end of a long day. It also involves absorbing ideas and interpreting meaning.

With a DIY project, you might be tempted to source a version of what you're constructing from an online shop that offers the product for half the price but none of the fulfillment. Taking the hard way can mean learning a new skill, eliciting the type of rewarding effort that you haven't felt in ages.

Friction for a fast lifestyle

Mark says the point isn't just to friction-maxx for the sake of it, but to value the kind of effort that can deepen a person.

What you're aiming for is depth of processing, which can be gratifying in itself, Mark says. This concept describes the effort taken to understand something, effort that leads to better retention.

Depth of processing doesn't only apply to sophisticated tasks. It also arises in an act as mundane as reading a map to learn how to get from one place to another. When you're not reliant on a maps app as a guide, the brain must create its own internal spatial map based on the environment, which might include objects like landmarks and natural features, according to Mark.

"You can find yourself [being] the snake chasing its own tail."

If you're looking for a simple piece of friction that has the potential to boost your cognitive abilities, Mark recommends learning a route and developing an internal map of it. Then attempt walking or driving without GPS or a maps app.

Mark isn't immune to tech-enabled distractions, either. She recently resolved to spend less time listening to audiobooks during outdoor walks. It may seem innocuous, but even the audio input can shift your attention from the present moment and onto the content playing in your ears, Mark says. You're likely to miss out on the benefits of an outdoor stroll when you don't focus on its restorative qualities, such as listening to birds chirp.

Taking a walk without media introduces friction if it's something you don't do regularly. Devoting your undivided attention to that podcast or audiobook, perhaps at home in a quiet place, also counts as friction-maxxing.

Using friction-maxxing with your kids

Jay Vidyarthi, a meditation teacher and tech founder, is concerned about the zeal-of-the-convert factor. He believes people can overcorrect, once they grasp that friction is necessary for a fulfilling and happy life. They may intentionally make everything difficult for no other reason than avoiding the guilt they would feel if they went easy on themselves.

"You can find yourself [being] the snake chasing its own tail," says Vidyarthi, author of Reclaim Your Mind: Seven Strategies to Enjoy Tech Mindfully. He recommends approaching friction with mindfulness and curiosity, not "self-flagellation and self-judgment."

Vidyarthi has been exploring friction in his own life. He noted his tendency to check work email while playing with his young son. He needed friction to interrupt this pattern, so took that email app off his device and put a different app in the same spot on the screen — one of our top picks for meditation apps, Insight Timer.

The swap helped him reflect on what motivates the desire to check email, whenever his thumb instinctually hovers the button. His conclusion? He's tied self-worth to productivity, which makes it hard to feel OK when not moving work forward.

Understanding this pattern has dramatically reduced his fixation on work email and messages, and increased his presence with his son, Vidyarthi says.

Be curious about friction as a tool

No doubt some people benefit from a formal practice in which they track their efforts for accountability and motivation. Yet that tracking should yield meaningful insights about where and how friction can benefit them, rather than becoming its own unstoppable cycle of heightened expectations.

For a tech tool that helps with managing friction, consider an app blocker like Opal or Brick, which restrict select apps and can be programmed for specific times of day. One Mashable reviewer used Brick to cut their screen time in half.

Jezer-Morton is allergic to tips and takeaways — they're too easy, she says, another example of friction removed. What she does offer is a little philosophical inspiration.

"I don't really think about it in terms of practical ways of going about [friction-maxxing]," she says. "I think of it more like reaffirming your own relationship with your humanity."

The new Hydrow Arc Rower offers a great indoor winter workout

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:26:34 +0000

As much as we try to deny it, working out is apparently really, really good for overall health. That doesn't mean everyone should immediately sign up for a marathon, but it does mean that most of us would benefit from some movement, whether that's weight training, dog walking, or stepping onto the treadmill. However, if you want the most bang for your buck (results for your effort), you might want to consider a rowing machine. And as of today, there's a new kid on the block who's worthy of some attention.

Hydrow has been a leader in the rowing machine market for years now, making some of the most sophisticated and sleek-looking machines around. The brand's latest model, the Hydrow Arc Rower, is truly something to admire. Keep in mind it comes with a $2,295 price tag, but some people will find that well worth the money. Afterall, health is a pretty important part of life.

Credit: Hydrow

Hydrow Arc Rower

$2,295 at Hyrdow

What's new with the Hydrow Arc Rower

The Hydrow Arc is now the newest model Hydrow makes, dethroning the Hydrow Wave Rower. The Arc comes with the largest screen (24 inches), powerful speakers, and AI features that don't make us wish AI would simply disappear. There's also fitness tracking that caters to monitoring rowing stats that'll be useful over time.

Hydrow uses electromagnetic resistance which is useful for offering a quiet workout experience. There's also the padded ergonomic seat and a comfortable handle for a slip-free workout. Here are some overview specs about the Hydrow Arc Rower:

Dimensions: 25 inches W x 48 inches H x 86 inches L
Weight: 147 pounds
Weight capacity: up to 375 pounds
Screen: 24-inch HD

A 24-inch display for taking yourself out on the water for workouts, but in the living room. Credit: Hydrow

Advanced metrics for novice to Masters rowers

One of the biggest differences between the Hydrow Arc and the brand's previous models is the introduction of HydroMetrics. This encompasses three important aspects of rowing: precision, power, and endurance. After each workout, the Arc will pop out a HydroMetrics Index score which gives insight into how that workout went. It also gives tips on how to improve next time and highlights what went well during the workout.

While some people find the motion of rowing intuitive, everyone could use some guidance on nailing correct form. Not only does correct form impact power, it's so important for avoiding any injuries. HydroMetrics aims to help everyone with perfect form on each workout.

In the brand's press release about the new Arc Rower, John Stellato, the president and CEO of Hydrow said, "The Hydrow Arc Rower introduces a smarter way to build strength. We call it Fluid Strength — full-body training, designed to meet members exactly where they are, with every movement challenging more than muscle. HydroMetrics allows us to analyze and distill a wealth of data to guide members to perform better, and delivers the feedback today’s consumer craves to measure progress and achieve results."

Personally, I've been rowing for almost 25 years and I always welcome a check on my form, so the HydroMetrics is an exciting feature to see. Not only will it be great for Masters, it's damn near essential for those new to rowing.

A gym membership, but in the comfort of your living room

All Hydrow models, including the Arc, really shine with the brand's fitness membership. This is an add-on that comes with a $44 price tag per month and gives users access to over 5,000 live and on-demand workouts. Since all Hydrows come with a screen, these workouts take you out on the water to waterways around the globe. On non-rowing days, the membership gives access to yoga, strength training, and mobility sessions. Plus, the Hydrow membership allows users to create multiple profiles per household.

Other Hydrow models worth attention

If you're not in the mood to drop $2,300 on the new Hydrow Arc Rower, the Hydrow Origin Rower is on sale at Amazon for $1,895, which is a 14% discount compared to the normal price of $2,195. You'll miss out on some of the new features found on the Arc Rower, but you'll still be in for a full-body workout at home.

Credit: Hydrow

Hydrow Origin Rower

$1,895 at Amazon
$2,195 Save $300

Not everything needs to be known: How one day with no phone changed my life

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 22:37:02 +0000

I can't count the number of times I stood outside my neighborhood church and lied to myself about my smartphone usage.

Over the past decade, my daughters have often stopped to play on the church's thick grass lawn. That's when I engage in the ritual of pulling the device from my pocket to pass the time, under the guise of efficiency. The lie arrives swiftly: You need to catch up on the online grocery order. You need to respond to that unanswered text message. Don't you need to know the weekend weather forecast?

If I did see what I was doing, justifications would follow. Hey, your parents didn't watch you every second of the day. You're not doomscrolling, you're being productive! It was only when I cut my phone out of my life for 24 hours that I saw those justifications were deceptions as well.

SEE ALSO: Yes, you can unplug for 24 hours

After writing a story about the annual Global Day of Unplugging, I decided to try it for myself. I emerged a changed person. When I returned to the church lawn just a few days later, I couldn't recognize my former self — the one who was convinced that her smartphone served her best interests.

Now the constant connectivity seems like torture. When I don't have my phone at my side, I no longer have the fear that something is undone or amiss. The sensation of my phone in my back or coat pocket no longer registers as convenience but as a burden.

Instead, I feel a deep and abiding sense of ease. I have successfully reset my nervous system, shifting out of constant high-alert and into the sought-after "rest and digest" state. I'm much more patient with my children. And I sleep easier than I have in years.

I've read stories like this before, always with a skeptical eye. I thought 24-hour breaks were for people who used their smartphone mindlessly. I thought I had strong tech boundaries. After all, I report on the science of digital technology and well-being. My family has a no-phone rule at dinnertime. I didn't scroll social media in bed. I turn off notifications for most apps, and use the focus mode regularly.

Nonetheless, I'd built an illusion of freedom, underneath which my mind and attention remained yoked to my smartphone. I spent my days optimizing for productivity and efficiency. I toggled between email, texts, weather, maps, shopping, and other apps. My mind generated a never-ending list of tasks to complete on a screen.

The scene at the church lawn wasn't unique. I did this nearly everywhere, even as I occasionally challenged myself to leave the phone untouched for short bursts.

But a day without my phone was what it took to teach me that true liberation means living in the ambiguous and imperfect present, without a device as your dictator — or your crutch.

"Not everything needs to be known"

The idea of a digital sabbath has been around for years. I had long discounted the impact it might have on me personally. Still, the interviews I conducted for my story on the Global Day of Unplugging awakened something.

When I decided to participate, I set low expectations. At first I committed to a 12-hour fast, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. My husband agreed to join me. To my surprise, a few family members did as well, when I informed our group chat that I would be unavailable via text for the evening.

And that meant, for the first time that I can recall since I became a smartphone owner in 2009, I slept with my device in a different room.

This should have been low-hanging fruit. I knew the research that suggests a smartphone in the bedroom can worsen sleep. But without a landline, I feared I'd miss an emergency call in the middle of the night from a family member. I'd grown accustomed to listening to a 10-minute meditation on my phone at bedtime. Secretly, I didn't want to lose my meditation app streak.

For this experiment, I decided to move my phone to the kitchen overnight. I took logistical advice from Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life, who recommended putting my phone on do-not-disturb while also leaving the ringer on in case a "favorite" contact needed to reach me.

I thought I'd struggle to fall asleep, but the opposite happened: I drifted off peacefully, no meditation needed.

There were moments of restlessness, but I awoke in the morning feeling lighter and more refreshed. I could've looked at my phone then; I'd hit the 12-hour mark. Whether it was the curious journalist or competitive athlete in me — or a combination of both — I decided I wanted to go further. Maybe I could make it 24 hours. A family caregiver would be spending the day with our kids, as my husband and I ventured out into the world without phones.

The preplanned date made sticking to a 24-hour fast trickier than it might have otherwise been. Our phones came with us, but they traveled in a zippered pouch in a backpack instead of our pockets.

First, we ran an errand that had been on our calendar for weeks. We discovered upon arriving that we were a half hour early, a product of not checking our phones habitually to confirm the details in advance. We decided to walk to a pizzeria for a quick slice. I knew from experience that it was a five to seven-minute walk.

Any other day I would've pulled up the location in my maps app to confirm the distance and walking time. Not this time. As we strolled, a phrase came to mind: not everything needs to be known.

Freedom from the impulse to check

The impulse to check my phone arose multiple times early on that day, just as Price had warned.

"The moment you put your phone down your brain is going to protest by coming up with all of these things you need to check or look up or buy or do," she told me. "It really is kind of fascinating how panicked your brain will get."

Price recommended carrying a notebook to guard against the checking reflex, which I did. Yet a curious pattern emerged each time my brain wanted to consult the phone: None of the tasks were really that urgent or necessary.

I didn't need to know the exact temperature; it was as unseasonably warm as our digital home thermometer said it would be. Still, my mind continued to search for things to do. Wouldn't it be nice to visit Lake Tahoe this summer? Maybe I should check the going rental rates.

I heard the refrain again: Not everything needs to be known.

After the errand, my husband and I decided to spend the summer-like spring day at the beach. Without checking a maps app, we concluded that traffic jams and packed parking lots would make the trip unpleasant. We opted for public transit instead, taking our chances on a ferry without checking the schedule.

Once in the car, we realized neither of us knew how to get to the closest freeway entrance. We could've stopped and asked a stranger for directions, but for the video game-like maze of freeway entrances and the lack of places to park. Instead I summoned my phone's voice assistant — from the trunk — for brief directions, via the car's console. Once on the freeway, I exited the maps app on the console because I knew my way.

This, I realized, is what it actually feels like to use your phone as a tool.

No selfies, no problems

More than a hundred people stood in line at the ferry terminal, trying to shield themselves from the sun. Our phones remained stashed in the pouch. We didn't want them to rescue us from the uncertainty of the next boat's arrival.

The ferry came into view quickly, and we managed to shuffle slowly on board before the boat reached capacity. I contemplated a selfie with my husband, the wind whipping our hair as the ferry sped across the bay, faster than I've ever experienced. Normally I would've documented the moment and texted the image to a family thread as evidence of our adventure, awaiting their digital-heart responses.

But I didn't need the selfie or those affirmations today. The phone stayed stowed away.

Once in the city, I remembered which train would take us the eight-plus miles to the beach. On the train we counted each stop — more than two dozen of them between us and the Pacific Ocean, which crashed onto the beach before us an hour later.

The sound of waves usually calms my nervous system. This time, though, I arrived feeling relaxed. I hadn't battled traffic to this gorgeous destination, that was part of it. But I could also feel the equanimity of a peaceful existence start to override the impulse to check something — anything! — on my phone.

"I feel free," I told my husband, as we looked towards the thin blue horizon line.

An adventure from before smartphones

Dinnertime approached. We walked to a restaurant we'd seen from the train. The fusion taco menu was a nice surprise; we hadn't checked what the restaurant served, or its reviews. The food took a while. We people-watched and bantered about the restaurant's early 2000s SoCal surf soundtrack instead of disappearing into devices.

The food delay made our trip home more complicated than we expected. As the minutes ticked away, so did our ability to make the right ferry back home (I'd written down the schedule in my notebook). So we decided to take a ride-share car to a commuter train, which would deposit us as close to the ferry terminal where we parked as possible.

Once it helped in hailing the car, the phone stayed in its pouch. Again, it played the part of a useful tool instead of a distraction to mask our stress about getting back to our kids.

'So you were like a kid?'

I later recounted the story to my older tween daughter, who does not have a smartphone but is surrounded by peers who do. I told her we'd spent the day navigating without directions or any clear timeline.

"So you were like a kid, then?" she asked me. I couldn't think of a more bittersweet response.

A few days later, thinking back on it, I felt a surge of anger. My 24-hour fast had reframed so much of my tech use as a waste of time, when I believed it to be productive and useful. This angry feeling is apparently common amongst those who unplug, according to the experts I've interviewed. Now I understand why everyone who has the phone-free epiphany proselytizes about it.

As I write this, I'm three days out from my 24-hour fast. I'm learning to navigate the workweek without making my phone central to it. The transition isn't easy. I missed an important call and feel the urge to be available to friends and family via text. I've certainly thought twice about texting someone who's turned on do-not-disturb; I don't want to suddenly feel unreachable.

But I also don't want my attention split into meaningless fragments. And it took coming back to that church lawn to remind me.

That evening I was walking the dog with my younger daughter. She just lost her first tooth, often joyously hop-skips, and likes to collect tiny flower bouquets for me. Choral practice was underway inside the church; she was intrigued by the voices singing in harmony. She peered through the window, on tip toes, to take in the scene. I encouraged her to walk through the open front door and peek inside. She reported back: "They're singing!"

I grew up attending Catholic mass and have always been moved by hymnal singing. This time, tears gathered as I stood still and listened, while watching my daughter dart between blooming bushes, gathering scattered fallen flowers for me.

My phone was in my pocket. I had no urge to reach for it. I could not have cared less about my shopping list, unanswered texts, or the weather forecast. I was content in the moment, as the sky slowly darkened around us and voices in unison gave praise to God.

Ive sucked at sleeping for a decade. The Hatch Restore 3 makes bedtime feel less chaotic, but its not a cure-all.

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:05:33 +0000

The fact that there are people who can simply fall asleep when they're tired is mind-blowing to someone who's had serious trouble sleeping for over a decade. (Like, what do you mean you just go to bed at night?) After years of feeling like a zombie 24/7, relaying the same story to different doctors, and feeling resentful when someone in my life casually takes a nap, I've developed a serious "that won't work on me" attitude about most sleep products.

At the risk of sounding like I'm trying to win the insomnia competition, that's all just background on why I roll my eyes at trendy melatonin gummies or sleepy teas. So I'm kind of shocked that a Hatch alarm clock — perhaps the mother of all viral sleep products — is actually somewhat helping me wind down at night.

What does a Hatch alarm clock do?

The Hatch Restore 3 is a premium sunrise alarm clock that's also a sound machine and color-changing lamp. Sunrise alarm clocks use gradual brightening light to signal to our body that it's time to wake up, promoting a more natural transition out of sleep than being jolted awake by an annoying siren.

The Restore 3 is the newest Hatch. It has a knob on the top for easier controls. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The Restore 3's clock can be always on, always off, or automatically off at night. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

But the Hatch Restore 3 acts like just as much of a sunset alarm clock. Our bodies respond similarly well to light cues to get sleepy at night, and the bulk of Hatch's features actually come into play the evening before. If you have the paid subscription, the Restore 3 provides a ton of calming wind-down entertainment content like bedtime stories and podcasts to keep you from craving phone stimulation before bed.

Sleep is second nature for some, but I have to hone it like a skill

OK, but what about the people who... don't really get sleepy at night?

I don't know what I did to so royally cook my circadian rhythm and nervous system, but it's not just that I don't necessarily get tired at night — it's that my mind is also wired at night. And scrolling too late is just a fraction of my issue. There are nights when I effortlessly don't look at my phone for an hour or two before bed, but only because I randomly got the motivation to scrub my bathtub at 11 p.m. To be fair, I only got in the habit of squeezing tasks in while I'm "up" because I spent years trying to stick to a "normal" bedtime, lying awake until the wee hours of the morning (often not sleeping at all), regardless of if I was physically exhausted.

The ~night owl~ thing was a silly little quirk in high school and college. But nowadays, my late-night brain activity is now spiked with adult worries that weren't on my radar back then: Health anxiety, productivity anxiety, and general state of humanity anxiety are the big ones, all floating alongside anxiety about not being able to sleep. I'm not sure how much of my insomnia stems from severe racing thoughts, but it's unsustainable now.

I spent months using my insatiable late-night need to Google everything in the world to figure out how to get myself back on track. It became clear that making my room pitch dark and 68 degrees wasn't enough. I needed to start being just as strict with my sleep routine as I was with my skincare routine or cleaning routine. Part of that just requires the discipline to get my non-negotiables done earlier, but I was curious about whether a sunrise alarm clock could help my schedule (or lack thereof) feel less overwhelming.

The Hatch Restore 3 is helping me romanticize routine

Up until a few months ago, I would have died on the hill that a sound machine was no better than letting an eight-hour YouTube video of rain sounds play out of your phone. But after having the Hatch Restore 3 on my nightstand, I'll vouch for the Hatch experience being much different than simply using my phone.

First, I have to note that the Restore 3's speaker quality is divine. Sounds are velvety smooth without the faint crackle that you hear with an iPhone speaker, and there's never a harsh cutoff between sound loops. But the audio quality is hardly the most important difference — it's the whole pre-sleep routine that the Hatch inspires.

My favorite Hatch feature is the "cue to unwind." Every night at 10:30, my Hatch automatically starts glowing and playing dreamy music. I use "Lavender Sky," the average ambient tune that sounds like something you'd hear at the massage studio, plus a matching light that flickers between purple and blue. The human brain really likes repetition — repeated actions are how we form a habit that feels subconscious, not forced.

The purple Hatch light and red light bulb in my lamp create the most heavenly scene in this corner. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

I clearly struggled to start my bedtime process at a decent hour on my own, so the Restore 3's cue to unwind has been a helpful tangible reminder that it's time to start chilling out. The sound and light combo makes me want to be responsible and read instead of immediately opening TikTok when I get in bed. Any mental chatter that I need to remember (an idea for work, a chore, a text I need to send, even a new outfit brainstorm) gets written down by hand in a notebook instead of my Notes app. Then, it's up to my self-control to actually save those tasks until tomorrow.

Like unwind cues, Hatch sleep routines can involve whatever combination of sound and light that helps you doze off. (The sound options are different, though.) I opt for thunderstorm sounds or "shower in the next room." One press of the big top button shifts your Hatch from unwind to sleep mode.

There's a sunset gradient for any mood — not just typical sunset colors. Credit: Screenshot: Hatch

I appreciate the variety of those cozy, familiar household options. Credit: Screenshot: Hatch

There are a ton of free sunset routines that gradually dim the clock's light to help lull you to sleep. Sleep routine duration can be set to last for a few minutes, a few hours, a full day, or just until you tap the clock. I feel like the whole sunset thing isn't that helpful if you use a sleep mask, so I've actually been utilizing the sunset sleep routines while I'm still awake and trying to get tired.

It's a bummer that the Hatch Restore 3 isn't waterproof. The cozy lighting would be much more valuable in my bathroom when I'm showering and self-caring. All of my steps take forever, and the harsh bathroom lighting certainly isn't conducive to mellowing out.

The Restore 3's sunrise is adjustable, from brightness to duration before your alarm goes off. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The Restore 3 gradually shifts between shades of orange and peach, then to bright white. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

In the morning, the gradual sunset starts five minutes to an hour before your alarm goes off. It slowly brightens while shifting between orange and peach tones — it's kind of dull in my room that gets a lot of sun in the morning, but it probably hits so hard in a dark room. I appreciate that the alarm sound fades in instead of hitting at full volume immediately. The bird chirps are a cute touch.

Isn't this all just stuff you could do without a $170 alarm clock?

When all of the premium features come at an extra monthly cost, the Hatch Restore 3 feels a bit overpriced — especially considering many of its features can be replicated with less expensive devices. Smart lightbulbs could be set to turn a certain color at a certain time. It's not hard to find a dedicated sound machine for $40 or $50, or a cheaper sunrise alarm clock in general. If you're most concerned with staying off your phone before bed, you could just buy a Brick for $59.

Can you use the Hatch Restore 3 without a subscription?

Yep, you can technically get full use out of the Hatch Restore 3 without paying extra (that's what I do). Free audio options include 40+ sleep sounds and 20+ alarms spanning nature sounds, color noises, fans and other humming appliances, and soothing lo-fi beats. There are definitely enough options for my needs, mostly because I don't care enough to pay for anything more elaborate. But without the ability to filter out Hatch+ exclusive sounds in the app, it does get frustrating to see a lock on nearly every sound you swipe past.

The paid Hatch subscription costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Aside from the larger sound library, Hatch+ unlocks access to a ton of sleep content like sound baths, bedtime podcasts, guided meditations, and audiobook snippets. So, without paying for Hatch+, you're losing out on most of the entertainment options that were supposed to help build your phone-free nightly routine.

Hatch+ also gatekeeps many more alarms than sleep sounds. Most genres of music (grunge, '90s and "Hatchstreet Boys," elegant instrumentals, etc.), anything seasonal, and meditation shuffles are all locked. Maybe you've seen a Hatch ad involving a celebrity recording a funny or inspirational wakeup call — yep, locked. The celebrity ones might be mildly amusing the first few mornings, but hearing the same voice yapping about how it's going to be a great day feels like severely unserious long-term alarms.

The actual sunrise part needs a relatively dark room

You may not be able to take full advantage of the Hatch Restore 3's actual sunrise sequence if your room gets blindingly bright in the morning, or if you wear a sleep mask.

Since all of the blinds in my apartment are borderline worthless, I sleep with a black t-shirt over my eyes. (I can't stand a sleep mask strap.) Even though it's not attached to my head, I usually wake up with it repositioned to block out morning light. So am I really getting the full effect of the gradual rosy glow that comes on before my alarm goes off? Doubtful.

My coworker Samantha Mangino, who also has a Hatch Restore 3, made an interesting point: She wishes that it had a normal alarm sound. Hatch is so set on waking you up gently that it doesn't consider heavy sleepers who want to try the sunrise function, but need a noise less gentle than wind chimes.

Is a Hatch alarm clock worth it?

If you always feel chaotic at bedtime or upon waking up, the Hatch Restore 3 could be really helpful in getting your rest routine under control. You'd be surprised at how much stress is simply coming from being scared awake by a blaring phone ringtone.

The nightly unwind cues automatically create the relaxing environment that you may have been struggling to create for yourself. My decade-long inability to sleep at a normal time has hardly been cured by scheduled ambient sound and lighting, but the Restore 3 has made me take my bedtime routine more seriously — successfully leading to dozing off a tiny bit earlier on some nights. Is that worth $170? Maybe, if other sleep products haven't been effective.

But a Hatch alarm clock can only build the phone-free routine it claims if you're making a conscious effort to stay off your phone — or if you're paying for Hatch+. The gradual dimming light won't magically knock you out if you're still on TikTok in bed, and most pre-sleep anti-phone entertainment is exclusive to the $4.99 per month subscription. If you don't want to pay for Hatch+, you'll need to be strict about sticking to screen-free entertainment when your unwind cue comes on. Otherwise, a $170 alarm clock won't be much more than a color-changing lamp on your nightstand.

Hatch Restore 3

$169.99 at Amazon

This Renpho smart scale is down to its best-ever price at Amazon — act fast to save over $40

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:20:54 +0000

SAVE $44: As of March 12, the Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale is on sale for only $189.98 at Amazon. That's just shy of 20% off and its best price on record.

Credit: Renpho

Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale

$189.98 at Amazon
$233.99 Save $44.01

There's a whole lot more to your health than just your body weight. If you need a little guidance along your health and fitness journey, there's tons of tech that can help you see the big picture — starting with a smart scale. The Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale gives you a breakdown of your full body composition and for a limited time, it's down to its best-ever price.

As of March 12, you can grab the Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale for only $189.98 at Amazon instead of $233.99. That's nearly 20% in savings and its best price on record. But you'll have to act fast to secure the savings. As a Lightning deal, this discount will disappear when the timer runs out.

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The Renpho Smart Scale uses eight high-sensitivity electrodes to track over 50 body metrics, including weight, body fat, muscle mass, BMI, and much more. All metrics will show on the 4.3-inch TFT display, as well as in the user-friendly Renpho app, which can sync up with Apple Health, Google Fit, and MyFitnessPal. The app supports unlimited user profiles and offers personalized health insights for each.

You'll get historical body data and detailed charts to help you track long-term metrics and get a better glimpse at the big picture, rather than dwelling on daily fluctuations. In other words, this is not for casual users.

The clock is running down, so act quick to score the Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale for its best price to date.

Can a $250 alarm clock break my doomscrolling habit? I slept next to the Dreamie for a month to find out.

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 09:01:10 +0000

For years, my nighttime routine has involved a lengthy social media binge. It always starts as "one last scroll" as a way to decompress, before sliding into a mindless midnight swiping spree. I've spent many a night looking like that one Sarah Paulson meme, face glowing in the dark as my brain slurps up an endless feed of viral chum.

I know I'm not alone: Doomscrolling is practically a national pastime in 2026. Studies indicate that anywhere from 31 to 64 percent of U.S. adults do it regularly. And with over half of us bringing our phones to bed every night, doomscrolling is often linked to sleep disturbances, among other physical and mental symptoms.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, a tricked-out smart alarm clock called the Ambient Dreamie was pitched to me as a doomscrolling habit-breaker. Ambient CEO and co-founder Adrian Canoso told me he came up with the idea for the device several years ago amid a stretch of insomnia, wanting a sleep device that cut out his phone as he tried to wind down at bedtime. This isn't a revolutionary idea, but unlike popular alternatives, the Dreamie doesn't rely on a separate app or subscription. It's a truly phone-free bedside companion.

Credit: Ambient

Ambient Dreamie

$249.99

Save $25 with code SLEEPWELL through March 14

The catch is that the Dreamie isn't cheap: Ambient sells it online for $249.99 a pop. (The code SLEEPWELL will save you $25 during Sleep Week through March 14.) I've spent the past month snoozing next to one to find out if it's actually worth the money.

How the Dreamie works

You can adjust the brightness of the Dreamie's light ring using the touch strip on top of it. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Dreamie is a white pill-shaped gadget with a modern, inconspicuous look and no external branding. It has a circular display with a clock face, adaptive brightness, and touchscreen controls that are easy to navigate in a daze. The Dreamie needs to be hooked up to your home's WiFi so it can download software updates, but you can't use it to check notifications or access the web. It's corded, so you don't need to worry about recharging any batteries.

A warm light ring surrounding the Dreamie's screen supports dynamic RGB effects. You can dim it by swiping your finger along a touch strip on top of the device. Doing so produces a dot in the middle of the Dreamie's screen, which you can drag around to point the light in any one direction — helpful for finding things in the dark.

The Dreamie's light ring is directional. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Twisting the Dreamie's light ring changes the volume of its built-in 360-degree speaker. (It gets impressively loud, so I never used it over the halfway mark.) The device comes pre-loaded with an audio library of 15 different sleep "scenes," some of which are paired with lighting effects for extra ambiance. "Fireplace," which sounds like softly crackling logs, makes the light ring flicker in shades of orange, while "Aurora Borealis" sets off a synthy soundscape with rainbow waves. There are environmental sounds, guided breathwork exercises, and green, pink, and brown noise options.

The Dreamie currently supports 15 different sound and lighting scenes. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Dreamie has Bluetooth support, so you can use it with the best sleep earbuds if your bedmate likes to slumber in silence.

When you boot up the Dreamie for the first time, it'll prompt you to reflect on your recent sleep cycles and set some sleep goals. For example, I'm trying to get eight hours of sleep and wake up by 7:45 a.m. every weekday. The Dreamie suggests an ideal bedtime based on these metrics (i.e., basic math).

The optional "Back to Sleep" scene is ideal for insomniacs. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

From there, you can customize your "sleep routine" with different audio and lighting scenes. The Dreamie divides this routine into three phases, which begin automatically around your bedtime. You can change or omit any of them based on your preferences:

Your Bedtime Cue scene tells you when you're supposed to start getting ready to sleep
Your Wind Down scene helps you fall asleep
Your Noise Mask scene keeps you asleep

You can also program a "wake-up schedule" of alarms throughout the week. You're free to add as many schedules as you'd like and modify them with four different alarm sounds, a gradually intensifying "sunrise" lighting feature, and snooze timers.

The Dreamie's light ring can simulate sunrises (....but not very well). Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Swiping down on the Dreamie's clock face will manually cycle between Wind Down, Noise Mask, and a static "Ambiance" scene. Swiping up reveals a menu with other settings, including:

Different clock face designs
An option to hide the clock when the Dreamie is idle
A simplified dark theme for nighttime
A room temperature reading
A redshift mode with reduced blue light
A "Back to Sleep" scene to play if you wake up in the middle of the night

Hands-on with the Dreamie: What makes it special?

You can twist the Dreamie's light ring to adjust its speaker's volume. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Dreamie makes it easy to pretend like your phone doesn't exist. It doesn't require an app for setup, and it eliminates most excuses for bringing your phone to bed by offloading your alarms, night lighting, and sleep content.

Admittedly, my doomscroll-addicted brain did not love this concept initially. My mind was racing and antsy the first few times I climbed into bed without its favorite self-soothing toy, looking for something to do.

The Dreamie's scenes were actually really helpful in quieting these thoughts. They fill the void of silence, so it's harder to get distracted by musings of work or every mistake I've ever made. I've started relaxing and falling asleep much faster than usual. I slept in complete silence before this, so consider me converted.

I like using the "Wave Breathwork" and "Light Rain" scenes for my Wind Down and Noise Mask phases, respectively. (That's so Scorpio of me.) I'm a night owl who's been bad at keeping regular bedtimes since college, when I worked for a student newspaper with a 2 a.m. print deadline, so I normally skip Bedtime Cue entirely. But when I do use it, I pick "Fireplace" for the cozy vibe.

The Dreamie's library of audio scenes includes Box Breathing and Wave Breathwork exercises. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Mornings are also dramatically better with the Dreamie. For my daily wake-up schedule, I use its default "Bells" alarm sound with a 10-minute sunrise simulation. The sunrise effect is too weak to wake me up on its own (even after a recent update that made the Dreamie's light ring brighter), but Bells has been a very pleasant change from my usual harsh iPhone alarm. Waking up isn't a jump-scare anymore. And I no longer instinctually reach for my phone first thing — a freeing feeling.

While Dreamie is expensive, it's a one-time purchase. Other popular smart alarm clocks like the Hatch Restore 3 and the Loftie Clock are cheaper upfront (both retail for $170), but some of their features are locked behind $50 annual subscriptions. The Dreamie undercuts them after less than two years of use.

The Dreamie's "Fireplace" scene is cozy. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Not only is the Dreamie subscription-free, but you don't even have to create an account to use it. It'll never ask you for your name or email address.

Notably, the Dreamie has Platinum Certification from the Calm Tech Institute, a research firm focused on mindful tech design. According to a CTI blog post, it's "the first bedside device to earn recognition for successfully minimizing bedroom phone usage while respecting human attention and privacy" based on an 81-point rating system.

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More Dreamie features to look forward to

The Ambient team says the Dreamie will continue to improve with more useful features. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

So, is the Dreamie worth the investment? I would say yes under two circumstances: if you plan on using it long-term, and if the Ambient team follows through on their promise of "updates that keep the Dreamie getting better over time," to quote the company's website. Next on the docket are podcasts and contactless sleep tracking, which should arrive as over-the-air updates imminently and by summer, respectively.

I'm especially excited about a sleep tracking feature. Ambient says the Dreamie will use sensors, not a wearable, to monitor your movements and produce insights about your sleep habits. All data will be stored locally.

Google’s Nest Hub smart display has a similar feature, but smart alarm clocks like the Hatch Restore 3 and Loftie Clock do not. If the Dreamie's sleep tracking works well, it could be a real wake-up call for the competition.

Credit: Ambient

Ambient Dreamie

$249.99

Save $25 with code SLEEPWELL through March 14

Sleep Week 2026: The best deals on new mattress, fresh pillows, sleep earbuds, and more

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:41:39 +0000

Best sleep week deals at a glance

Best mattress deal

Brooklyn Bedding CopperFlex Pro Hyrbid Mattress (queen)

$999 (save $333 at Brooklyn Bedding)

Best sleep earbuds deal

Soundcore Sleep A30

$199.99 (save $30 at Amazon)

Best sleep tracker deal

CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro

$79 (save $20 at Amazon)

Best pillow deal

Coop Home Goods Adjustable Latex Pillow (queen)

$74.50 (save $74.50 at Amazon)

Best alarm clock deal

Hatch Restore 3 Sunrise Alarm Clock

$144.99 (save $25 at Amazon)

Over the weekend, we lost an hour of sleep. Now, when the morning alarm clock goes off at 7 a.m., our internal clocks think it's 6 a.m. An hour doesn't sound like a ton of time, but it sure felt like it when waking up for work this morning. If nothing else, it's shown us the importance of sleep.

Coincidentally, the National Sleep Foundation has March 8 to 14 dedicated to Sleep Awareness Week. It's a time to focus on why sleep matters, how it impacts our wellbeing and health, and what can be done to improve sleep quality. If you don't remember when you bought your current mattress or pillow, it's possible that it's time for some new sleep gear.

Nearly every sleep-centric brand is celebrating the week, so this is a great time to bundle spring cleaning with a bedroom refresh. Get some cooling sheets, a sunrise alarm clock, and sleep earbuds that are comfortable enough for side sleeping. Below, I've rounded up the best Sleep Week deals for helping you get restorative slumber.

Best mattress deal

Credit: Brooklyn Bedding

Brooklyn Bedding CopperFlex Pro Hyrbid Mattress (queen)

$999 at Brooklyn Bedding
$1,332 Save $333

Why we like it

If you sleep hot, the Brooklyn Bedding CopperFlex Pro Hybrid Mattress could be an actual dream come true. After testing the mattress for weeks, I can say I've never slept on a cooler mattress. During Sleep Week 2026, the queen-size CopperFlex Pro Hybrid Mattress is on sale for just $999.

Brooklyn Bedding used a cool-to-the-touch cover on the mattress and paired it with copper-infused memory foam for a truly cooling experience. Plus, it's great for pressure relief. The motion isolation on the bed is also great for couples.

More mattress deals

Avocado — save up to 15% on organic mattresses and up to 50% off organic bedding
Awara — save 50% on select mattresses
Casper — save 20% on the Dream and Dream Max mattresses
DreamCloud — save up to 60% on mattresses and 66% on bundles
Essentia — save up to 22%
Helix Sleep — save 25% sitewide
Layla — save up to $200 on mattresses and up to 50% off sleep accessories
Leesa — save 20% on mattresses
Mattress Firm — save up to 62% on mattresses from Sealy, Beautyrest, and Serta
Naturepedic — save 15% on organic mattresses and get free sheets with mattresses size twin and up
Nectar — save up to 50% on mattresses and 66% on bundles
Nest — save up to 50%
Saatva — save 15% on purchases of $1,000+
Purple — queen-size mattresses start at $999
Silk & Snow — take up 15% off sitewide and $300 off mattresses
Woolroom — save up to 30%

Best sleep earbuds deal

Credit: Soundcore

Soundcore Sleep A30

$199.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $30

Why we like it

If you're not getting restful sleep on account of noise, the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds aim to ease you into restful slumber. Designed to be comfortable enough for side sleepers, the earbuds come with plenty of white noise and snore masking tracks. Plus, the case has built-in lights, so you won't need to fumble around for it in the dark.

Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard tested out the Sleep A30 earbuds when they launched last August. Not only do they block sounds, they act as a sleep tracker, too. The metrics give you insight into overall time spent asleep, amount in deep versus light sleep, and sleep movements.

It's worth noting that the Sleep A30 earbuds are on sale for $30 off, which brings them down to $199.99. However, Anker just launched the new Sleep A30 Special earbuds, which are now Mashable's favorite sleep earbuds, making some improvements in performance compared to the original Sleep A30. The new Sleep A30 Special earbuds aren't on sale during Sleep Week 2026, but at full price, they come in at $199.99, or the same price as the original A30 earbuds while they're on sale. The new model might be preferred for some.

More sleep earbuds deals

Soundcore Sleep A20 — $149.99 ~~$179.99~~ (save $30)
Ozlo Sleepbuds — $274.99 ~~$349~~ (save $75)

Best sleep tracker deal

Credit: CMF Nothing

CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro

$79 at Amazon
$99 Save $20

Why we like it

When I tested the CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro, I had a hard time getting the watch to run out of battery. In the end, I changed a bunch of setting to get the battery to deplete quicker. And that's an awesome problem when using a smartwatch as a sleep tracker. Instead of having to take the watch off to charge at night, this watch can last for up to two weeks before it needs a recharge.

Sleep metrics on the CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro are impressive. The watch's app will give you an overall sleep score each morning, details on sleep duration, sleep stages, and it can even track naps automatically. The CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro usually sells for $99, but it's on sale for Sleep Week 2026 for $79.

More sleep deals

Sunrise alarm clocks, sound machines, and essential oil diffusers

Ambient Dreamie — $224.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $25 with code SLEEPWELL)
Blueair Mini Restful Air Purifier and Sunrise Clock — $139.99 ~~$199.99~~ (save $60)
Hatch Rest Baby Sound Machine — $59.99 ~~$69.99~~ (save $10)
Hatch Restore 3 — $144.99 ~~$169.99~~ (save $25)
Loftie Alarm Clock and Loftie Lamp — save 20%
Vitruvi — save up to 40% on diffusers and humidifiers sitewide
Yogasleep Hushh Portable White Noise Sound Machine — $25.99 ~~$29.99~~ (save $4)

Pillows and bedding

Blissy — buy three silk pillowcases, get one free, plus $114 value in free gifts
Brooklinen — save 20% sitewide plus up to 50% on bundles
Buffy — save 20% sitewide
Ettitude — save up to 25% sitewide
Kitsch — save 26% sitewide
Mellow CloudAlign Pillow — $49 ~~$100~~ (save $51)
Pluto Pillow — save $40 on pillow and pillowcase bundles
Purple Pillow — buy two, save 25%
Rest Evercool Cooling Comforter and Cooling Sheets — save up to 30%

How to sleep better: 7 products for a good nights sleep

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:58:13 +0000

How's your sleep? Not getting enough of it? That's why the National Sleep Foundation has its annual Sleep Week, to remind people just how important sleep is to our overall well-being. Contemporary life can leave us sedentary and constantly staring at screens, which doesn't create the best conditions for sleeping well.

For most of us, getting a good night's sleep requires a little bit of effort. Luckily, there is a whole market of products designed to help you get a better night's sleep. Some of it is a fad, but some of it truly works. So in honor of Sleep Week, here are products that actually help you achieve a better night's sleep.

A smarter alarm clock: Loftie alarm clock

Loftie Alarm Clock

$144.49 at Amazon
$169.99 Save $25.50

Lead shopping reporter, Bethany Allard, is a big fan of the Loftie alarm clock. Once you set it up, there's no need to keep your phone in the bedroom as it serves as an alarm and a sound machine. The alarm has a two-fold system, first delivering a wakeup tone, gently stirring you out of sleep, followed by a get-up tone, signaling that it's time to get up. Loftie alarm clocks also feature a built-in Bluetooth speaker, bed signal alarm, and a built-in nightlight.

Read our full review of the Loftie Alarm Clock.

An alarm clock that simulates the sun: Hatch Restore 3

Hatch Restore 3

$169.99 at Amazon

Like Loftie, Hatch's Restore 3 gently wakes you up in the morning, but it also soothes you to sleep. Setup for the Hatch Restore 3 happens in the Hatch smartphone app, where you create a routine that starts in the evening with a wind-down routine and then eases you into the new day with a gentle wakeup routine. The built-in light even emulates the rising sun, ideal if you're waking up before the sun actually rises. Plus, it comes with a fun array of wakeup and wind-down sounds, but keep in mind, to gain full access to the Hatch library, you need a premium subscription.

Lighting to unwind: Red light bulb

Credit: Gamma Light Therapy

Gamma Light Therapy Red Light Bulb

$29.99 at Amazon

Credit: GE

GE LED+ Color Changing Light Bulbs

$12.19 at Amazon
$13.49 Save $1.30

You've incorporated red light into your skincare, so why not your bedtime routine? While the studies on the effects of red light in a bedtime routine are somewhat limited, evening red light exposure may help stimulate melatonin production, leading to a better night's sleep. A red light bulb is a cheap and easy thing to incorporate into your bedroom, creating a dim, relaxing mood that signals to your brain that it's time to sleep.

Gamma Light Therapy's red light bulb is designed as a sleep aid, but a smart bulb like GE's LED+ bulb features a red light setting in addition to warm and cool white light, so you don't always need the ambient evening lighting.

A sleep tracker: Oura Ring + Whoop

Credit: Oura

Oura Ring

$349

Credit: Whoop

Whoop 5.0/MG

$239 at Amazon

If you're trying to optimize your sleep to no avail, it's time to get some actual data. We have a full guide to the best sleep trackers, but our two favorites are the Oura Ring and Whoop 5.0/MG. Both track your health biometrics around the clock, plus you'll get special sleep insights.

After weeks of tracking, the Whoop learns your preferred wake and sleep times, eventually suggesting your ideal bedtime and wake time. Plus, the Whoop acts as an alarm, gently buzzing when it's time to wake up.

Meanwhile, the Oura ring tracks your sleep, eventually categorizing your chronotype. That chronotype then provides an optimal sleep schedule so you're not fighting against your own circadian rhythm.

Both the Oura ring and Whoop are strong sleep trackers; which one is right for you is just a matter of whether you prefer wearing a ring or a band.

Read our full review of the Oura Ring 4.

Keeping out the noise: Loop earplugs

Loop Dream Earplugs

$49.95 at Amazon

Whether you're sharing a bed with Snorlax, have noisy neighbors, or just need to block out the noise, earplugs might be the meaningful difference between a good and bad night's sleep. Loop makes our favorite earplugs — the Mashable team has even worn them to see Beyoncé.

Loop's Dream earplugs are designed for overnight comfort, so even side sleepers won't feel them as they doze off. Each pair comes with two types of ear tips: the standard Dream foam silicone ear tips plus the Dream double tips, so you can play around with the level of noise reduction you need.

Read our full review of Loop earplugs.

Headphones you can sleep in: Sleep A30 earbuds

Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds

$179.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $50

If you like to listen to music or a guided meditation while you sleep, but the person you're sharing a bed with doesn't, it's time to get a pair of sleep earbuds. The best pair we've tested is the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds, which, like the Loops Dream earbuds, are designed for optimal comfort while sleeping. But these are more than just earplugs. The Soundcore Sleep A30 have active noise cancellation to block out noise, plus come with built-in soundscapes including AI audio brainwave, snore masking, white noise, Calm app sleep stories, and Calm app meditations.

Read our full review of the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds.

A luxury bed setup: Eight Sleep Pod 5

Credit: Eight Sleep

Eight Sleep Pod 5

$2,999 at Eight Sleep

Sometimes sleep requires a serious investment. If you want a high-tech sleep device, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 might be the answer. The Pod 5 is a mattress cover that is attached to a hub. Throughout the night, it regulates its temperature so you never get overheated (or too cold). But beyond temperature regulation, Eight Sleep has an extensive app, tracking all your sleep metrics for thorough insights into your health. It's an extremely pricey system, costing $2,999, but for those struggling to sleep well, it could crack the code to a good night's sleep.

Read our full review of the Eight Sleep Pod 5.

Score the Garmin Forerunner 55 on sale for $169 right now at Amazon — save over $30

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:44:30 +0000

SAVE OVER $30: As of March 4, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is on sale for $169 at Amazon. This deal saves you $30.99 on its list price of $199.99.

Credit: Garmin

Garmin Forerunner 55

$169 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $30.99

If you have running goals you're hoping to hit in 2026, it's worth investing in a fitness tracker. While some can come with very high price tags, there are quite a few on the more affordable side, including the Garmin Forerunner 55. If this model has caught your eye, now is a great time to check it out as it's dropped to $169 at Amazon.

This is a 15% discount from the Garmin Forerunner 55's regular list price of $199.99, allowing you to save just over $30. All of the available colors are down to this price right now as well, so you can have your pick of the black, aqua, or white models.

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For those with a steady running routine, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is worth grabbing thanks to features like PacePro for GPS-based pace guidance, training tools like race time predictions and finish time estimates, and its heart rate monitor. Plus, it boasts a battery life that lasts up to two weeks in smartwatch mode or up to 20 hours in GPS mode.

In our breakdown looking at whether the Garmin Forerunner 55 can replace a personal coach for half-marathon prep, writer Lois Mackenzie highlighted that, even if this watch can't replace a dedicated coach, it's still a great pick for everyday workouts. She said that, "For those with a more ambitious running goal, a running coach can provide personalized guidance, tailored workouts, and personal adjustments that a watch can’t replicate. For most casual or beginner runners, the Forerunner 55 is more than enough to shave seconds off your PR."

Don't miss out on the chance to grab the Garmin Forerunner 55 on sale for $169 right now at Amazon.

Instagram to alert parents when teens search for suicide

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Instagram will soon notify parents of teens who search for suicide or self-harm content on its platform, company officials announced Thursday.

Repeated searches for terms linked to suicide or self-harm over a short duration will trigger the parental alert. The feature is only available through Instagram's parental supervision tool. That is separate from, but can be combined with, a Teen Account, which is designated for youth between the ages of 13 and 17.

Though Instagram attempts to block such search results and direct teens to helplines, it has never notified parents about their children's activity. Parents will receive the alert via an app notification and a separate email, text, or WhatsApp message, depending on the contact information they provided.

Parents will also be able to view expert-designed content to talk to their teen about suicidal feelings, if they so choose. In cases of imminent physical harm, Instagram will notify emergency services, a long-standing policy.

Teen Account users and their parents will start receiving information about the program next week, with official alerts beginning in early March. The feature will roll out to the U.S., United Kingdom, and Canada first. Instagram's announcement also acknowledged that Instagram's parent company, Meta, is developing similar parental alerts for certain AI experiences.

Last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified at a trial focused on the allegedly dangerous defects and addictive nature of social media platforms. Meta has also been sued by parents of Instagram teen users who died by suicide after being sextorted on the platform.

Teens will receive advance notification from Instagram. Credit: Courtesy Instagram

Instagram will send parents an alert when one is triggered. Credit: Courtesy Instagram

Dr. John Ackerman, an expert on youth suicide prevention who was not involved in Instagram's alert feature, told Mashable that it appeared to be carefully considered. Instagram said it relied on feedback from a group of experts it assembled on suicide and self-harm. (Instagram does not publicize the members of its advisory group.)

"I like that they're expanding protections. I like that they're letting parents know," said Ackerman, clinical manager for the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Still, Ackerman said he was interested in learning more about the search terms that can trigger an alert, and whether the list accounts for common words and phrases teens use to avoid algorithmic detection of suicide discussion.

Instagram said that phrases showing an intent or desire to harm one's self, along with terms that promote or glorify suicide and self-harm, would trigger an alert.

Ackerman also noted that the feature could amount to "lip service" if notifications are inaccessible, difficult to navigate, or don't lead to "actionable change."

What to do if you get or trigger an Instagram alert

For parents who receive an alert, Ackerman recommended remaining calm and acknowledging that it may be difficult to hear, especially if the notification is unexpected. Ackerman added that parents don't need to try to fix everything in the moment. Instead, they should focus on being present for their teen and determining next steps while making their support clear. (Ackerman suggests these tips for talking about suicide from The Kids Mental Health Foundation.)

Teens whose searches trigger an alert might feel frustrated, Ackerman said. While that's a normal emotion in the circumstances, Ackerman encourages a teen feeling that way to focus on getting help. If their parent is unsupportive or doesn't follow up on an alert, Ackerman urges them to seek help from a trusted adult, like a teacher or coach.

This is the message Ackerman shares with youth during outreach at schools and elsewhere.

"[W]e let them know that it's okay if the first adult you reach out to isn't as supportive as you would have hoped," Ackerman said. "You continue to be persistent ... there are definitely supportive adults out there."

Get better sleep with the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds while theyre down to a record-low price at Amazon

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 16:23:17 +0000

SAVE $50: The Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds are on sale at Amazon for $179.99, down from the list price of $229.99. That's a 22% discount that matches the record-low price at Amazon.

Credit: Soundcore by Anker

Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds

$179.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $50

Sleep is one of the most important pillars in life. While plenty of variables make life enjoyable, we have some basics needs like food, hydration, and sleep that are required. Unfortunately, sleep can be hard to come by. Between stress, anxiety, and a snoring partner, getting restful slumber can feel pretty close to impossible. If you struggle with noise while trying to sleep, check out this sleep earbuds deal that could be a solution.

As of Feb. 17, the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds are on sale at Amazon for $179.99, marked down from the standard price of $229.99. That's a 22% discount that matches the record-low price at Amazon. In total, you'll be getting a sweet $50 savings.

Soundcore designed the Sleep A30 earbuds to help with masking disruptive noise while you're trying to get some shut eye. They do this through a three-stage masking system that Soundcore says includes tracking snoring via the included earbuds case, playing adaptive audio to mask noise, and comfortable foam tips on the earbuds themselves. The foam tips are meant to be comfortable enough that even side sleepers can wear the earbuds all night.

In Mashable's testing of the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds, Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard found the ANC to work great and the library of white noise and snore masking options were plentiful. Allard wrote, "I do have a moderately loud mini-split air conditioner, a partner who moves frequently in their sleep, and street noise from cars. The ANC noticeably diminishes all three — a few times during testing, my partner said something to me without realizing I put my earbuds in, and I couldn't hear him at all."

You'll be able to get about nine hours of battery life per charge on the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds which extends to 45 hours with the included case. Soundcore went to great lengths to make sure we can all find a comfortable fit with the earbuds so each pair comes with four sizes of silicone ear tips, three sizes of memory foam tips, and three sizes of ear wings.

If you're worried about sleeping through your alarm, no worries, because the Sleep A30 earbuds have an on-board alarm and it even has a snooze feature.

If you deal with a snoring partner or loud pets at night, gift yourself the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds. With any luck, the ability to get deep, restorative sleep will arrive on your doorstep this week.

Save up to 48% on two premium Garmin smartwatches at Amazon

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 15:43:15 +0000

SAVE UP TO $476: As of Feb. 16, the Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) smartwatch is on sale for $523.60 at Amazon. That's a savings of 48% and its lowest price on record. For a cheaper alternative, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar smartwatch is also on sale at Amazon for just $296.10 — a savings of 34%.

Credit: Garmin

Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) smartwatch

$523.60 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $476.39

Credit: Garmin

Garmin Instinct 2X Solar smartwatch

$296.10 at Amazon
$449.99 Save $153.89

When it comes to smartwatches, Garmin always tops the list in terms of the best battery life. The brand's many watch options can last for over a week without needing a recharge — something Apple still can't seem to figure out. If you're looking for a smartwatch that can accompany your health and fitness journey without constantly needing to be plugged in, Garmin is the way to go.

For Presidents' Day, two of Garmin's most impressive smartwatches are on sale for up to 48% off at Amazon. First up, the Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) is down to $523.60 from $999.99. That's over $476 off and its best price on record. If that's still out of your price range, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is also on sale for just $296.10 at Amazon. That's 34% or over $153 off its list price.

Rocking a shiny AMOLED display with a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and titanium bezel, the sleek epix Pro is built for fitness fanatics. It goes way beyond just tracking your heart rate and caloric burn; it's packed with advanced features that track pulse oxygen levels, stress, body battery, respiration, recovery time, real-time endurance, running pace, heart rate variability, and much more. There's even a built-in flashlight for late-night or early-morning training. It'll last you up to 10 days in smartwatch mode.

If the epix Pro is out of your price range, the Instinct 2X Solar is also an excellent fitness tracker option that's packed with features. It tracks many of the same metrics and also includes a built-in flashlight. Where it differs is its solar-powered display. When you expose the Instinct 2X Solar to three hours of direct sunlight per day, you'll essentially get unlimited battery life.

One thing to note: Both of these discounts are Lightning deals at Amazon, which means you'll have to grab them before the progress bar at the top of the page reaches 100. Or before the timer runs out, whichever comes first.

The best Presidents Day mattress deals — save up to 60% on mattresses, beds, sheets, and pillows

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 10:11:26 +0000

The best Presidents' Day mattress deals at a glance:

Best overall deal

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid Mattress with free accessories (queen)

$1,099 (save $1,397)

Best organic mattress deal

Naturepedic Serenade Organic Hybrid Mattress (queen)

$1,599.20 (save $399.80)

Best foam mattress deal

Bear Original Mattress (queen)

$649 (save $349)

As much as we try to ignore it, sleep is a major part of life. Ask any parent of a young child or someone who's dealing with jet lag and they'll confirm that sleep makes a big difference. It impacts our mood, cognitive ability, and even the immune system.

We have tons of great tech that helps us get restorative slumber like sleep earbuds that are comfortable enough for side sleepers, smart beds that adjust temperature automatically, sleep trackers, and air purifiers that help with breathing in healthy air. But those probably won't help all that much if your mattress is uncomfortable. A good bed is both supportive of your back, shoulders, and hips while also being comfortable enough to keep you sound asleep. If that's not happening, it might be time for a new bed.

Just like how there's a best time of the year to buy a new TV, mattresses have a few standout sale times. Presidents' Day happens to be one of the best times to score a major discount on a new mattress, bedding, and pillows. If you bedroom or your guest room has been asking for a refresh, check out these deals. These upgrades are a great way to kickoff spring cleaning season.

Best overall mattress deal

Credit: DreamCloud

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid Mattress (queen)

$1,099 at DreamCloud
$2,496.01 Save $1,397.01

mattress protector, sheet set, and two cooling pillows included

Why we like it

Last spring when I tested the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress, I was shocked by the quality to price ratio. It feels like a luxury mattress you'd encounter at a 5-star hotel, but its price falls into the affordable range. In fact, a single night's stay at some 5-star resorts would cost more than this mattress.

The DreamCloud Premier is a hybrid bed that combines a plush pillow-top with ultra supportive memory foam and coil layers. The edge-support is also noteworthy. When testing, I felt like this was a great option for couples thanks to the motion isolation or anyone who's a combination sleeper and needs support in several positions.

The DreamCloud Presidents Day Sale tosses in a mattress protector, bamboo sheet set, and two cooling pillows. If you're shopping for a queen-size, you'll be able to get the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid with these accessories for $1,099.

Best organic mattress deal

Credit: Naturepedic

Naturepedic Serenade Organic Hybrid Mattress (queen)

$1,119.20 at Naturepedic
$1,999 Save $879.80

Why we like it

If you shop for organic food and look for clothing made of natural materials, you might want to opt for an organic mattress. The Naturepedic Serenade Organic Hybrid Mattress is on sale during the brand's winter refresh sale. The eight-inch tall mattress uses certified organic latex, wool, and cotton, which eliminates the need to use chemical-derived foam or flame retardants.

Aside from the all-organic materials and glue-free design, one of the highlights of the Naturepedic Serenade Organic Hybrid Mattress is its customization options. You can get the mattress in plush, cushion-firm, or firm to best suit your sleeping style and needs. Plus, wool and cotton are naturally breathable materials, so this could be excellent if you tend to sleep hot.

Best foam mattress deal

Credit: Bear

Bear Original Mattress (queen)

$649 at Bear
$998 Save $349

mattress protector and two pillows included

Why we like it

An all-foam bed is a great option for tons of people, and Bear makes some of the best if you're looking for an excellent value. In a queen size, the Bear Original Mattress usually costs $998, but it's on sale for $649 during the Bear Presidents Day Sale. Plus, the brand is throwing in two free pillows and a free mattress protector.

Bear uses three layers of foam on the Bear Original that are designed to provide great support and comfort to pressure points. This could also be a great option for a kids' room thanks to its affordability. In a twin size, the Bear Original is on sale for $463.

More mattress and bedding deals

Amerisleep — save $1,000 on a mattress with code PD2026
Avocado — take up to 20% off organic mattresses and 10% off organic bedding and pillows
Awara — save 50% on select mattresses
Bear — save 35% off sitewide
Beautyrest — save up to $1,000 on select mattress and adjustable base sets
Big Fig — get $500 off any mattress + 25% off everything else with code PRES
Birch — take 25% off sitewide with code PRES25
Brooklinen — take 20% off sitewide
Brooklyn Bedding — save up to 35% on mattresses
Bryte — save up to $1,000 off sitewide
Casper — take up to 30% off on mattresses and 35% off bedding bundles and pillows
Coop Sleep Goods — save up to 40% sitewide
Helix — take 25% off sitewide with code PRES25
Eight Sleep — save up to $350
Essentia — take 21% off sitewide
Eli & Elm — buy one pillow, get a second for 50% off
FluffCo — take 20% off sitewide
Layla — take up to $200 off mattresses and get two free Layla Pillows and free bamboo sheet set
Leesa — take 30% off mattresses and 25% off bedding
Linenspa — save 20% off mattresses sitewide
Lull — save 60% on all mattresses and get free sheets, pillows, and a mattress protector
Naturepedic — take 20% off sitewide
Nectar — save up to 60% on mattresses and 66% on bundles
Nest — save up to 15% on mattresses and 20% on pillows
Nolah — take 35% off sitewide with free in-home set-up and removal on qualifying orders
Puffy — save up to $1,350
Purple — take up to $500 off a mattress and earn up to $300 in gift credit
Siena — save up to 60% on mattresses
Silk & Snow — get a free sleep bundle with mattress purchase
Sleep Number — 50% off Limited Edition mattress
Tempur-Pedic — save up to $500 and get $300 in free accessories; BOGO pillows and sheets bundles
Tuft & Needle — save 20% sitewide
Westin — save 20% on mattresses
WinkBeds — save 30%
Woolroom — save up to 40%

Score the Amzmerit smart scale for its best-ever price on Amazon — save $50 with this handy coupon code

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:30:37 +0000

SAVE $67: As of Feb. 4, the Amzmerit smart scale is on sale for only $49.99 at Amazon with the code TQXXS39F. That's an extra $50 off its sale price.

Credit: Amzmerit

Amzmerit Smart Scale

$49.99 at Amazon
$117 Save $67.01

with code TQXXS39F at checkout

While regular old scales simply measure your weight, smart scales take things multiple steps further by providing you with loads of data to help you tailor your fitness journey appropriately. Typically with the help of an app, you'll get the full picture when it comes to your progress. It may sound expensive, but it doesn't have to be.

As of Feb. 4, you can grab the Amzmerit smart scale on sale for only $49.99 at Amazon when you use the code TQXXS39F at checkout. It's typically listed at $117 and is currently on sale for $99.99, but the code will knock an extra $50 off. Once you add it to your cart and head to checkout, select "use a gift card, voucher, or promo code" under your payment method options and copy/paste the code TQXXS39F into the box. You'll see the promotion applied to your order total before you officially checkout.

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The Amzmerit scale uses eight high-sensitivity electrodes to track 45 key health indicators, including weight, body fat, muscle mass, BMI, and bone mass. That data syncs with the A&P Health app, which is compatible with AppIe Health, Google Fit, and more. With historical body data and detailed charts, the app helps you track long-term metrics and get a glimpse at the bigger picture rather than focusing on daily fluctuations. You can even add data profiles for family members, including babies and pets.

Unlock the behind-the-scenes data of your health and fitness journey with the Amzmerit smart scale.

Lock in on your 2026 health goals with this Etekcity smart scale (and it’s on sale)

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 20:19:19 +0000

Save $5: As of Jan. 31, Amazon has the Etekcity smart scale on sale for $19.98, which is 17% off its list price of $23.99.

Credit: Etekcity

Etekcity Smart Scale for Body Weight

$19.98 at Amazon
$23.99 Save $4.01

Fewer things have worse vibes than that dusty analog scale at your parents' or grandparents' house that squishes when you step on it, with a dial that isn’t always accurate. Maybe you’ve moved on from that, but the digital scale you inherited from a roommate a million years ago is perpetually low on batteries because it eats AAs like it's its job instead of measuring your weight. Well, the smart scale that holds the #1 spot in the Body Composition Monitors on Amazon is currently on sale this weekend, and it is a lot better than those aforementioned scales of yore.

For just under $20, the Etekcity Smart Scale comes replete with app syncing features and Body Fat/Muscle Mass assessment technology that can supposedly tell you more about your body and health. The scale also comes with 3 AAA batteries that last for quite some time, according to satisfied reviewers.

The compatible app for this scale has really helpful features, including listing muscle mass, BMI, skeletal mass, and more. It also visualizes weigh-in data over time in a helpful linear graph, so you can see trends in your health. Multiple user profiles can be created and connected to the app, so weigh-ins can be private and logged to each user.

I tested sleep earbuds for months: Here are the 3 Id buy, and the one Id skip

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000

I spent many nights of sleep over a few months trying out earplugs and earbuds ranging from $50 to $349 to find the best of what's out on the market — and to see if getting earbuds just for sleep is actually worth it.

As a note, we generally no longer recommend the Ozlo Sleepbuds as their price point isn't on par with the features offered by their competitors. At their full price point, I'd say to skip them. However, if you're especially intrigued by their design (and have no qualms with the lack of ANC), grabbing them for $299 instead of their usual $349 is the absolute most we'd recommend paying for these earbuds to get true value.

The best earbuds for sleeping

Below, I pulled three of the best sleep earbuds on the market. Between the overall best, budget, and earplug picks, there's a wide range of price points, but as with any product, the most expensive of the bunch isn't necessarily the best overall. With that in mind, I highlighted where each earbud excelled, whether that be in comfort, noise cancellation, or ease of use, to help you pick the best sleep earbud possible.

UPDATE: Jan. 29, 2026, 5:00 a.m. EST We've replaced our recommendation for the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds with a recommendation for the Sleep A30 Special earbuds, due to their lower price point and better features. As such, we now consider them the best all-around pair of sleep earbuds. The Sleep A20 earbuds were formerly our top pick in this category — we've since updated them as our favorite budget pick (especially if you can grab them on sale).

How are sleep earbuds different than normal earbuds?

A confession: I used to wear AirPods nearly every night to sleep. More accurately, I used to wear a single AirPod so I could actually sleep on my side.

After testing earbuds designed for sleeping, I can tell you that everyday earbuds don't match up to the sleep earbud experience. For starters, standard earbuds aren't designed to be worn while you're lying on your side, so they often stick out of your ears and put hard plastic in contact with your ear. Not to mention, earbuds typically cap out at six to seven hours of battery life per charge, so if you're getting at least eight hours of sleep, you run the risk of interrupting it with the sound of your earbuds powering off.

Sleep earbuds, like the Soundcore A20 ones pictured in the middle, have a much thinner profile than traditional earbuds. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Sleep earbuds, on the other hand, can offer white noise options, better battery life, and significantly more comfort (that actually allows you to wear more than one earbud at a time). The pairs I tested came without microphones and with touch controls that worked but were less sensitive than traditional earbuds, so you can lie on your side without activating them. When I initially tested options for this guide, there weren't really any with active noise cancellation, but that has since changed thanks to the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds' release in August 2025, and the Sleep A30 Special release in January 2026. Still, you'd be surprised at how well passive noise cancellation, a good fit, and white noise work.

Is it safe to wear earbuds to sleep every night?

First and foremost, it's important to consider that sleep earbuds aren't the only way to approach nighttime noises that might be keeping you up.

I consulted Dr. Ashley Kita, an otolaryngologist and assistant professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at UCLA, to discuss any risks associated with wearing earbuds all night. While she didn't warn against using earbuds, she suggested that if what's keeping you up is a partner's snoring, you start looking for solutions there.

"If you're doing all of this to avoid a partner who is snoring, sometimes gently encouraging that person to investigate why they're snoring is kind of an important consideration," Kita said. "Because we find that obstructive sleep apnea is really underdiagnosed, and snoring, for some people, is the only sign of it."

If, however, what's keeping you up is less in your control, then you do want to be aware of three main aspects of using earbuds all night: proper hygiene, safe noise levels, and your ear comfort.

Proper hygiene

When I started testing these earbuds, I realized I was now wearing earbuds uninterrupted for longer than I typically would in the course of a day, even as someone who tests headphones for a living. When I asked Dr. Kita how that wear time might raise someone's risk for infection, she drew a comparison to the wear time of hearing aids:

"Many individuals wear hearing aids for longer hours during the day than they sleep at night," she said. And yet, folks who wear hearing aids don't often have ear infections, though long wear times may increase their risk.

With the long wear times, Kita said the main concern she could anticipate was wax buildup since the natural path for wax to exit the ear canal would be blocked. However, she said it's not necessarily a cause for concern, as wax can typically exit the ear canal at other points during the day when you're not wearing earbuds (or blocking your ear canal in any other way).

As for any heightened infection risk, Kita shared that it can increase when there's greater wax buildup that can then trap bacteria. She recommended cleaning the buds with isopropyl alcohol and a cotton pad after each use, if possible. (One of the brands we tested, Ozlo, recommends a weekly cleaning.) With all that said, someone's risk for infection really comes down to personal susceptibility — some people are more prone to ear infections than others. If you fall into that category, being more proactive about cleaning your earbuds is a good practice.

Noise levels

Noise-induced hearing loss is the second most common type of hearing loss (behind age-related hearing loss), so it's important to be aware of the level of noise you expose yourself to. Kita pointed me in the direction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) chart for how long people can be exposed to certain decibel levels safely.

In its FAQ, Ozlo also cites OSHA's recommendation, as well as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's recommendations, which top out at 90 decibels and 85 decibels for eight hours, respectively. We reached out to a rep from Soundcore to see if its earbuds have specific upper decibel limits, and will update this guide when we hear back. In general, though, Kita said the less noise, the better, recommending that you always try to use the lowest volume possible.

"While I don't necessarily love the idea of extra noise when you're not even conscious to appreciate it, if it's the thing that's keeping you asleep or letting you sleep, it just comes in this category of risks and benefits," Kita said. "Just make sure that it's quiet enough, then it really isn't that much different than using a white noise machine on your nightstand."

Comfort

Earbuds fitting comfortably is important for you to be able to fall asleep, but also for your ear health.

"Everyone's ear canal is shaped differently," Kita said. "And so something that might be really comfortable for your ears might really cause my ears to ache."

In other words, giving yourself earbuds-induced earaches every night can actually impact your ear health. If one of the below recommendations really isn't sitting right, even with adjustments to the ear tip sizes, don't be afraid to return them.

Other sleep earbuds we tested

At the end of the initial testing period, the one product that didn't make the cut was the 1More Sleeping Earbuds Z30, which, at $89.99, were the least expensive earbuds I tested. While significantly cheaper than the earbuds that did make the cut, their battery life, app features, and fit didn't quite match up to the other options on my list. However, if you're looking for very barebones low-profile earbuds (and don't mind hearing them die in the early hours of the morning), these aren't a bad option under $100.

1More Sleeping Earbuds Z30

$59.99 at Amazon

In keeping up with my value criteria, I decided to ultimately pull the Ozlo Sleepbuds as our best upgrade pick. After their price jumped up from $299 to $349 — far outpricing our existing picks (and most premium standard ANC earbuds, for that matter) — I determined their features didn't justify their price tag. The addition of sleep tracking (which is in the works) or ANC would make these earbuds much more competitive. On that note, the newly-released Soundcore Sleep A30 took their spot, as the only sleep earbuds with ANC on the market at the time of writing.

Ozlo Sleepbuds

$274 at Amazon
$349 Save $75

We've also added the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds as one of our official recommendations as of January 2026. At a lower price point of $199.99 to the original A30's $229.99, these earbuds are a better value, especially considering their improved battery life. As such, we removed the original A30s from our recommended earbuds (especially as it appears they will be phased out in favor of the Sleep A30 Special earbuds).

The Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds are the best sleep earbuds available now

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 10:10:02 +0000

I can't say reviewing the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds was particularly challenging.

After all, it was just about four months ago that I reviewed the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds upon their release. Those were the earbuds that added active noise cancellation to sleep earbuds — a feature not available on any other options on the market at the time. Their performance impressed me enough that I considered them the standard for premium sleep earbuds, despite their few flaws.

That is, until now. With the Sleep A30 Special earbuds, Soundcore doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but the few changes they do make are noticeable improvements over the original Sleep A30 buds.

The Sleep A30 Special earbuds look identical to their predecessors, but have a couple of key differences. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

The result is that the Sleep A30 Special earbuds aren't just better than their predecessors — they officially sit head and shoulders above all other available sleep earbuds. Let's get into what makes them the best.

What's new about the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds?

The Special earbuds came as a surprise to me, as Soundcore's addition of ANC already felt like a big enough upgrade to tide them over for at least a year, especially considering their complete lack of competition on that particular front.

Better battery life

That said, the ANC didn't come without a cost. The 14-hour battery life of the Sleep A20 earbuds — Soundcore's 2024 release — dropped all the way down to about seven-and-a-half hours with ANC on the Sleep A30 buds.

While that's more than enough for some people, it's not impossible to imagine a scenario where someone whose environment is loud enough that they want sleep earbuds with active noise cancellation might also want a full eight hours of coverage with that noise cancellation. Especially if you're relying on the earbuds' built-in alarm at the end of those eight hours. For earbuds that cost $229.99, it felt like a surprisingly limiting factor.

Soundcore directly addresses this issue by adding an hour of battery life to the Special earbuds, giving you anywhere from around eight to 10 hours of battery life. The variation depends on your settings, but in my week testing the earbuds, I found that leaving the ANC on and switching to local audio (without ANC) or leaving ANC and Bluetooth audio on all night comfortably got me through eight hours, which wasn't consistently the case when I tested the regular A30 buds.

The auto-switch options of playing local audio, pausing Bluetooth audio, and keeping Bluetooth audio on affect the battery life of the earbuds differently. Credit: Soundcore / Screenshot

A lower, and very competitive, price point

Typically, better features mean a higher price point, but Soundcore surprises again on this front. Rather than tacking on to the $229.99 price point of the Sleep A30 earbuds, the brand lowered the price to a more reasonable $199.99. While this is still not exactly chump change, it's an asking price that suits these single-purpose earbuds better.

In my original review of the A30 earbuds, I wrote:

I do need to acknowledge that $229.99 is a lot to ask for earbuds used just for sleep. Granted, they're far cheaper than the $349 Ozlo Sleepbuds, and they do come with ANC — the price makes sense. However, it's still steep, and far from your only option for effective noise blocking. The Sleep A20 are still a great (more) affordable option at $179.99.

Not only does the $199.99 price point widen the gap between Soundcore's ANC earbuds and the Ozlo Sleepbuds (which offer no ANC), but it also shortens it between the 2022-released Sleep A20 earbuds. Though those buds are still a great value (when on sale), at full price the Sleep A30 Specials are worth the additional $20.

Calm app integration

As a final bonus, the Sleep A30 Special earbuds also feature a Calm app integration within their companion app, giving users the choice between 20 sleep stories and five sleep-focused meditations to listen to as they drift off to bed. Among the sleep stories, you'll get options from categories including fiction, train and travel, and nature.

Listen to a bedtime story... Credit: Soundcore / Screenshot

...or a meditation with the Calm on the Soundcore app. Credit: Soundcore / Screenshot

This feature is less notable, as thanks to an update, it's also available via the Soundcore companion app for the regular Sleep A30 earbuds.

As for the content itself, I was a little disappointed that there was no option to change the voice of the narrator. I could also see the options getting repetitive (though that might not be the most pressing issue, as they're intended to help you get to sleep). The lack of options does stand out more when you consider the partnership between Ozlo and Calm, which gives users a year free of the $80 meditation service. But, again, the Ozlo buds cost $349 — you could buy the A30 Special buds, purchase a Calm subscription separately, and still have about $69 left over.

Small issues aside, the integration itself feels like a natural pairing between the two brands. And as someone with a brain that likes to think every thought possible the second my head hits the pillow, the addition of more white noise-style options is always welcome.

Soundcore Sleep A30 Special: Sound, noise cancellation, and performance

Excluding the upgrades mentioned above, the Sleep A30 Special earbuds perform nearly identical to the Sleep A30 earbuds. The Sleep A30 buds have had some firmware updates since their release in August, which improved the touch control accuracy, sleep detection options, and ANC.

All in all, that adds up to a pair of sleep earbuds that perform very well. The triple noise reduction system (Soundcore's term for the combination of ANC, passive noise reduction, and their snore masking tech) works well on all fronts, the battery life of the case and earbuds feel reasonable for daily use, they're comfortable with plenty of wear options, the app easy to navigate, the white noise varied, the sleep tracking a neat feature, and the touch controls didn't fail me once during my week of testing (which I appreciated extra while snoozing my alarm). The lower price point from the previous generation makes all of these features stand out even more.

Are they absolute perfection? Not quite yet. It would be nice to be able to set more than five alarms, and I find that the sleep tracking doesn't always work accurately — it occasionally detected an earlier bedtime than I had, or registered an especially early wakeup time if one of my earbuds loosened during the night (which, granted, really only happened as I tested out ear tip sizes).

However, those gripes are relatively minor and do very little to detract from the overall experience of using the earbuds.

Soundcore Sleep A30 Special specs

As a final roundup, here's everything you'll be getting on the Sleep A30 Special earbuds:

Active noise cancellation
Adaptive snore masking powered by microphones in charging case
Approximately eight to ten hours of battery life per use, depending on settings
Approximately five days of battery life in case per charge
Seven total ear tip options (four sizes of silicone ear tips and three sizes of memory foam), plus three sizes of ear wings
Customizable soundscapes for white noise, including Calm app sleep stories and meditations
Customizable touch controls
Built-in alarm with snooze
Sleep tracking
Two colorways: mist lilac and lunar white

Should you get the Soundcore Sleep A30 or Sleep A30 Special?

As much as I love the Sleep A30 Special earbuds, there's no need to upgrade if you already own the Sleep A30 buds, unless you're very, very unhappy with the battery life.

Minus their colorways, the Sleep A30 and Sleep A30 special buds are identical. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

For anyone who's yet to purchase either pair, both are currently available for $199.99 (with the Sleep A30 earbuds technically on a markdown from their list price). With that, there's no reason not to opt for the better earbuds.

All of that said, don't sleep on the Sleep A20 earbuds sale prices if you're looking for a more affordable option. Ask yourself if you actually need ANC. If at most, you're trying to block out the sound of an air conditioning unit or simply prefer to fall asleep to videos titled things like "Deep Sleep Music ★︎ FALL ASLEEP IMMEDIATELY ★︎ Melatonin Release," likely you don't actually need any additional noise cancellation. I personally picked up a pair of the Sleep A20 buds over Black Friday as a gift for my dad, and spent all of a whopping $107.99.

Are the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special earbuds worth it?

The Soundcore Sleep A30 Specials are, without a doubt, the best sleep earbuds to get if you need the maximum possible noise cancellation. (Even though they are really your only option on the ANC front).

Despite providing a unique feature in their ANC, at $199.99, they're priced fairly, and much more competitively than the $350 Ozlo Sleepbuds, the other major contender for premium sleep earbuds.

Though they have some very minor quirks here and there, they ultimately set the bar for other sleep bud brands to beat. Though it seems Soundcore's intentions are to just keep improving on a good thing.

Soundcore Sleep A30 Special sleep earbuds

$179.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $50

Save hundreds on lifetime access to Jillian Michaels: The Fitness App

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000

TL;DR: Pay $149.99 once (reg. $449.95) and get lifetime access to Jillian Michaels’ personalized fitness app—no subscription fees, no gym, just workouts that adapt to you.

Credit: Jillian Michaels

Jillian Michaels: The Fitness App (Lifetime Subscription)

$149.99
$449.95 Save $299.96

Staying consistent with fitness is hard when workouts feel generic or disconnected from real life. Jillian Michaels: The Fitness App is built to change that by creating workouts that adapt to your goals, schedule, and fitness level instead of forcing you into a one-size-fits-all plan.

For a limited time, new users can get lifetime access for $149.99 (reg. $449.95) — turning a personalized, expert-led fitness program into a one-time investment rather than another monthly obligation.

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Built around a dynamic workout engine, the app creates personalized routines based on your fitness level, goals, available equipment, and even how much time you have.

What you get with lifetime access:

1,000+ workout videos, from HIIT and strength to targeted routines
Personalized workout plans based on your goals and fitness level
Audio-only workouts for walking, running, or outdoor training
Pre- and postnatal programs designed for different life stages
Advanced meal planner system to support overall wellness
Meditations and self-care content for a more balanced approach
Ability to swap or ban exercises you don’t like or can’t do
Adjustable transition times between moves
Option to select available equipment or go equipment-free
Play your own music, with Beat Sync matching tempo to your workout

Instead of locking you into rigid routines, the app gives you flexibility — short workouts, longer sessions, quiet audio guidance, or full video coaching.

Get lifetime access to Jillian Michaels: The Fitness App while it’s just $149.99 (reg. $449.95).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

The premium Ozlo Sleepbuds are back down to a record-low price at Amazon — make sleep your top priority this year

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:38:49 +0000

SAVE $75: The Ozlo Sleepbuds are on sale at Amazon for $274, down from the list price of $349. That's a 21% discount that matches the lowest on record at Amazon.

Credit: Ozlo

Ozlo Sleepbuds

$274 at Amazon
$349 Save $75

Now that we're halfway through January, lots of us are honing in on how we want this new year to look. Some people have fitness goals, some people have intentions of becoming a great home chef, and others are focused on self-care. But if you don't get good sleep, it'll be nearly impossible to reach any of those goals. Instead, make getting better sleep the number one goal, and this deal at Amazon could be a gamechanger.

As of Jan. 15, the Ozlo Sleepbuds are on sale at Amazon for $274, marked down from the normal price of $349. That's a 21% discount that shaves $75 off the price. It also matches the lowest on record at Amazon.

When it comes to sleep earbuds, comfort is a huge priority. But you also want them to sound great, which is convenient since ex-Bose employees designed the Ozlo Sleepbuds. Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard reviewed the Ozlo Sleepbuds and explained, "Ozlo Sleepbuds are basically the Bose Sleepbuds that allow you to stream audio. While they can't yet track sleep data, they are highly customizable sleep earbuds that work (mostly) as promised."

Of note, the list price of the Ozlo Sleepbuds feels off compared to the industry standard, but today's sale price helps ease that concern. Still, the new Anker Soundcore Sleep A30 Special come in at a more affordable price, if that's a priority.

However, if you're interested in the design and features on the Ozlo Sleepbuds, they could be a perfect match. Tap into the Ozlo app's range of sleepy sounds or stream your own sleep tracks to the sleep earbuds. The wingtip design on these sleep earbuds help ensure they stay snugly in place throughout the night. They're even designed to be comfortable enough for side sleepers. Plus, they track your sleep.

For anyone who wants to get better sleep this year, the Ozlo Sleepbuds could be a simple solution to getting higher-quality rest. Snag them while they're back on sale for $274 at Amazon.

Character.AI settles lawsuits related to teen deaths

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 21:47:01 +0000

Character.AI and Google have settled several lawsuits filed against both companies by parents of children who died by suicide following lengthy conversations with chatbots on the Character.AI platform. Their exchanges allegedly included concerning discussions of the teens' mental health and well-being.

Character.AI said it could not comment further on the settlement, the details of which must still be finalized by the court, according to The Guardian. Representatives for the plaintiffs did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Mashable.

The most prominent case involved the 2024 death of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, who became secretly obsessed with a Character.AI chatbot based on the popular Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen.

Setzer's mother, Megan Garcia, only became aware of his Character.AI account when alerted by a police officer following his death, because the app was open on his phone. Garcia read messages in which Setzer behaved as if he were in love with the chatbot, which allegedly role-played numerous sexual encounters with him. The chatbot used graphic language and scenarios, including incest, according to Garcia.

If an adult human had talked to her son similarly, she told Mashable last year, it would constitute sexual grooming and abuse.

In October 2024, the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Garcia against Character.AI, seeking to hold the company responsible for the death of her son, alleging that its product was dangerously defective.

The filing also named as defendants the Google engineers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, Character.AI's cofounders.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleged that Google knew of concerning risks related to the technology Shazeer and De Freitas had developed before leaving to found Character.AI. Google contributed "financial resources, personnel, and AI technology" to Character.AI's design and development, according to the lawsuit, and thus could be considered a co-creator of the platform.

Google eventually struck a $2.7 billion licensing deal in 2024 with Character.AI to use its technology. Part of that agreement brought Shazeer and De Freitas back to AI roles at Google.

In fall 2025, the Social Media Victims Law Center filed three additional lawsuits against Character.AI and Google, representing the parents of children who died by suicide or allegedly experienced sexual abuse in the course of using the app.

Additionally, youth safety experts declared Character.AI unsafe for teens, following testing that yielded hundreds of instances of grooming and sexual exploitation of test accounts registered as minors.

By October 2025, Character.AI announced that it would no longer allow minors to engage in open-ended exchanges with the chatbots on its platform. The company's CEO, Karandeep Anand, told Mashable the move was not in response to specific safety concerns involving Character.AI's platform but to address broader outstanding questions about youth engagement with AI chatbots.

Ease sore muscles with the TheraGun Prime while its $80 off at Amazon

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 23:58:45 +0000

SAVE $80: The TheraGun Prime massage gun is on sale at Amazon for $249.99, down from the list price of $329.99. That's a 24% discount that matches the lowest price we've ever seen at Amazon.

Credit: TheraGun

TheraGun Prime (6th Gen)

$249.99 at Amazon
$329.99 Save $80

Now that we're a week into 2026, you might be dealing with muscle soreness if you've been working on a fitness resolution. Instead of waiting to get a massage appointment, it might be worth adding a massage gun to your at-home arsenal of workout gear. Check out this nice deal at Amazon that'll help ease soreness.

As of Jan. 7, the TheraGun Prime massage gun is on sale for $249.99 at Amazon, marked down from the normal price of $329.99. That works out to a savings of $80 thanks to a 24% discount. Today's sale price matches the lowest we've ever seen at Amazon.

Back in the day, we all had to either schedule a massage appointment or enlist the help of a friend to work out muscle knots. These days, we have percussive massage in a compact gadget that can be a huge relief. TheraGun makes some of the most advanced models, and the sixth generation of the TheraGun Prime is the brand's most durable massage gun yet, being built to withstand drops of up to 10 feet.

After a hard workout or a long day at work, the TherGun Prime can tackle your worst pains from shoulder knots to sore calf muscles. In addition, Therabody says percussive massage can speed up muscle recovery and increase flexibility.

The TheraGun Prime is designed to get up to two hours of use before you'll need to recharge, and the simple controls make it easy to operate. You get two attachments to use on the Prime — a dampener for more sensitive areas like near bones and a standard ball for use across sore muscles of all sizes.

Connect up with the TheraGun app, and you'll be able to follow along with tutorials on how to help with back pain, sciatica pain, or sore legs. The five massage speeds mean you'll be able to adjust the TheraGun to the setting that feels best.

Instead of dealing with sore muscles for days after a big workout, enlist the help of the TheraGun Prime percussive massage gun. It's on sale for the lowest price we've ever seen, and it'll be a great addition to your at-home fitness equipment.

The compact Sunny Health & Fitness foldable treadmill just dipped to under $400

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:05:13 +0000

SAVE $299.99: The Sunny Health & Fitness Slim Foldable Treadmill is on sale at Amazon for $399.99, down from the list price of $699.98. That's a 43% discount.

Credit: Sunny Health & Fitness

Sunny Health & Fitness Slim Foldable Treadmill

$399.99 at Amazon
$699.98 Save $299.99

There's always one glaring conundrum if you're shopping for at-home fitness equipment. How is it gonna fit? If you have health resolutions in 2026 but you're not sure how a piece of fitness equipment will fit in your house, there's a solid deal today at Amazon on a foldable treadmill.

As of Jan. 6, the Sunny Health & Fitness Slim Foldable Treadmill is on sale for $399.99 at Amazon, marked down from the normal list price of $699.98. That means you'll be in for a savings of $299.99 from a 43% discount.

If you need a compact treadmill that you can easily tuck under a bed or store in the closet, the Sunny Health & Fitness Slim Foldable model could be excellent. When folded, it measures 30.7 inches wide and 64 inches in length with a height of about 5 inches. The running deck itself is about 18 inches wide.

Another major plus of the treadmill is that it ships fully assembled. You won't have to deal with the hassle of putting it together or finding where all your tools went. Speaking of tools, the treadmill arms fold down onto the running deck via an included tool. Once you're done using that tool, there's a convenient storage spot on the treadmill itself, so you won't have to worry about misplacing it.

The device holder is great for giving you the option to watch a show on your phone and dive into a book on your Kindle while walking. Speed ranges from 0.6 up to 8 miles per hour. The transportation wheels make it extra easy to roll the treadmill away once you're finished.

To keep up with fitness goals while not cluttering your space, snag the Sunny Health & Fitness Slim Foldable Treadmill from Amazon while it's on sale for under $400.

Hit your fitness goals with the Fitbit Sense 2, now $60 off at Amazon

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 11:49:04 +0000

SAVE $60: As of Jan. 6, the Fitbit Sense 2 has dropped to $189.95 at Amazon. That's $60 off its list price of $249.95.

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Sense 2

$189.95 at Amazon
$249.95 Save $60

If you've set some fitness goals for 2026, a smartwatch or fitness tracker is well worth picking up. Thankfully, you can still save on select models after the holidays at Amazon. The Fitbit Sense 2 is one option on sale right now, receiving a $60 discount at the retailer.

Normally the Fitbit Sense 2 comes with a price tag of $249.95, but for a limited time Amazon has dropped it to $189.95. This saves you $60 overall, and applies to a couple of different colors so you can choose between the lunar white/platinum or blue mist/pale gold. For $10 more, you can also score the shadow grey/graphite model.

CES 2026: The Dreamie phone-free sleep device wants to help you stop doomscrolling before bed

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Most gadgets we've encountered so far at CES 2026 aim to excite and dazzle, but Ambient's Dreamie succeeds if it helps you snooze.

Not to be confused with the robot vacuum brand Dreame, the Dreamie is a sunrise alarm clock that can serve as a flashlight and play music, podcasts, or ambient sounds. It aims to replace your phone at your bedside, eliminating the temptation to doomscroll while you're trying to wind down. It doesn't even require an app for setup.

It kind of reminds me of a chic electric pencil sharpener. Anyone else? Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Dreamie made an appearance at the Pepcom media showcase Monday, where I checked it out and chatted with Ambient CEO and co-founder Adrian Canoso. He told me that he came up with the idea for the Dreamie during a particularly stressful point in his life a couple years ago. He was suffering from insomnia while working an intense robotics job amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and he happened to become a dad around the same time.

While researching sleep tech for his son, Canso thought some of the devices he encountered might help him deal with his own sleep problems. His idea for the Dreamie arose out of a particular desire for one that kept him off his phone while he was trying to get his brain to settle down for a good night's rest.

The Dreamie has a circular touchscreen on one end of it where you can schedule alarms and play your choice of calming audio. It comes with its own sleep content library that includes environmental noises and guided relaxation — no subscription required. It has a built-in speaker, but it also works with Bluetooth headphones. That way, you're not disturbing anyone you're sharing a room or bed with.

The colorful LED light surrounding the Dreamie's screen can brighten gradually in warm tones to simulate sunrises for gentle wake-ups. You can adjust it via touch controls. And if you need a more intense glow to find something in the dark, you can concentrate its illumination to one side of the device.

The Dreamie's built-in speaker gives it a little bit of heft. Credit: Haley Henschel

Canso said the Dreamie will add support for contactless sleep tracking at the end of Q1 2026. Its data will stay encrypted right on the device, not in the cloud.

The Dreamie is now available for purchase following a successful Kickstarter campaign that wrapped up in November. It retails for $249.99 on helloambient.com.

Credit: Ambient

Dreamie

$249.99 at helloambient.com

Head to the Mashable CES 2026 hub for the latest news and live updates from the biggest show in tech, where Mashable journalists are reporting live.

This $20 smart scale is the easiest way to track your 2026 health wins

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:06:51 +0000

SAVE 43%: As of Jan. 5, you can get the Renpho Smart Scale for $19.99, down from $34.99, at Amazon. That's a 43% discount or $15 in savings.

Credit: Renpho

Renpho Smart Scale

$19.99 at Amazon
$34.99 Save $15.00

Getting a better handle on your health doesn't necessarily mean hitting a specific number on the scale. If you’re trying to actually feel better this year, it’s worth looking at the full picture, including your sleep, hydration, and body composition.

As of Jan. 5, you can get the Renpho Smart Scale for $19.99, down from $34.99, at Amazon. That's a 43% discount or $15 in savings. This is a solid, entry-level price for a tool that gives you a much broader picture of your health than a traditional "dumb" scale ever could.

This scale uses four high-sensitivity electrodes to track 13 different body metrics, including BMI, bone mass, and muscle mass. That data then syncs directly to the Renpho Health app, which is compatible with Fitbit, Apple Health, and Samsung Health. The app is great for spotting long-term trends rather than obsessing over daily fluctuations. It also features a baby and pet weighing mode, so everyone in your household can use it.

Bonus: If you have an FSA or HSA account, this scale is also eligible for reimbursement, which is a nice way to use up those funds on something that'll help you stay on top of your wellness goals.

Kickstart your 2026 resolutions while the NordicTrack T Series 5 treadmill is on sale for $479

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:10:11 +0000

SAVE $120: The NordicTrack T Series 5 treadmill is on sale for $479 at Amazon, down from the normal price of $599. That's a 20% discount.

Credit: NordicTrack

NordicTrack T Series 5 treadmill

$479 at Amazon
$599 Save $120

Most of us are back to reality today. After time off of work for the holidays, we're experiencing a return to normal life today. If you pondered the thought of fitness goals for a 2026 resolution but haven't made any solid commitments because of holiday relaxing, this deal could be your best option.

As of Jan. 5, the NordicTrack T Series 5 treadmill is on sale for $479 at Amazon, marked down from the normal price of $599. That's a 20% discount that shaves a solid $120 off the normal price.

If you're not one to head to the gym, getting a treadmill for your home or apartment could be a great option. This also applies if you live in an area with weather that's not ideal for an outdoor walk in the winter. For decades, NordicTrack has been a leader in the treadmill industry and the T Series 5 is an ideal model.

In a world where things are becoming more and more complicated, the NordicTrack T Series 5 keeps it simple while offering everything we'd want in a treadmill. You'll get a stable device shelf for your phone or tablet, a cup holder for water or electrolytes, and full control of speed and incline.

Run to Amazon to snag the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar for a major 44% discount

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 14:47:03 +0000

SAVE $196.39: The Garmin Instinct 2X Solar (Graphite) is on sale at Amazon for $253.60, down from the usual price of $449.99. That's a 44% discount and a record-low price at Amazon. But act quick, as this is a limited-time Lightning Deal.

Credit: Garmin

Garmin Instinct 2X Solar (Graphite)

$253.60 at Amazon
$449.99 Save $196.39

Now that we're officially in 2026, some people are thinking about resolutions. Fitness goals are always some of the most popular, and if you fall into that category, you probably want a fitness tracker to keep better tabs on your progress. Garmin makes some of the most versatile models, and there's a massive discount today at Amazon.

As of Jan. 2, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar (Graphite) is on sale for $253.60 at Amazon, marked down from the standard price of $449.99. That's a major 44% discount that takes $196.39 off the price. It's also a new record-low price at Amazon.

Some tech advancements make so much sense that it feels silly we went without them for so long. In this example, I'm talking about a watch face that serves as a way to recharge via solar. It just makes so much sense. Garmin claims that the Instinct 2X Solar produces 50 percent more energy through the Power Glass lens compared to its predecessor. When exposed to three hours of sunlight each day, you'll be in line for never-ending battery life.

The Garmin Instinct 2X Solar will help top up the battery while you're outside on a run, dog walk, or simply out running errands. But more than that, it's a tough and durable fitness tracker that's ready to accompany you on adventures.

Garmin packed the Instinct 2X Solar with features you'll want on the trail, like 24/7 health tracking, a three-axis compass, a barometric altimeter, a built-in flashlight, and even an SOS strobe mode. Of course, you also get more standard features like heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and a pulse oximeter.

Keep in mind this is an Amazon Lightning Deal, and at the time of writing, it was 89 percent claimed. If the sale on the Graphite colorway sells out before you get to it, toggle over to the Whitestone colorway option, which is also on a nice 36% discount. It's not quite the 44% discount on the Graphite, but it's still well worth it.

Before your 2026 trail runs, swims, or off-grid hikes kick into full throttle, upgrade to the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar while it's on sale for a record-low price at Amazon.

Focus on self-care in 2026 with these health and wellness deals thatll start you off on the right path

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 18:27:25 +0000

Best self-care deals at a glance

Best beauty deal

Solawave BOGO sale

Buy one, get one free

Best deal for less screen time

The Brick

$53.10 (save $5.90)

Best sleep deal

Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds

$199.99 (save $30)

Best air quality deal

Airthings 2930 Wave Plus

$199.99 (save $50)

Best fitness recovery deal

TheraGun Sense

$179.99 (save $120)

Best air purifier deal

Shark NeverChange Max

$299.99 (save $100)

Best dental care deal

Oral-B iO Deep Clean + Whiten Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush

$99.99 (save $50)

Setting intentions for 2026 looks different for everyone. Some people have fitness-focused goals while others are vowing to head into the kitchen more often to become the best home chef in the neighborhood. If you're thinking more of the self-care route, we're all in.

Working on self-improvement is always a great idea, and it can take on so many different paths. From spending more time with your e-reader instead of scrolling to making time each week for an LED face mask session, your self-care intentions can encompass anything that makes you feel good.

Health and wellness usually take center stage when we talk about self-care, but we've included tons of options in this list of the best self-care deals. Gift any of these to yourself ahead of 2026, and you'll be well on your way to becoming the best version possible.

Best beauty deal

Credit: Solawave

BOGO sale at Solawave

Why we like it

If you didn't get the Solawave skincare device you were hoping to get for Christmas, here's your chance to take matters into your own hands. The Solawave BOGO New Year sale is live, and that means you can buy one Solawave product and get another for free. You can even mix and match with this sale, getting the cheaper item for free. That means you can snag the viral 4-in-1- Skincare Wand for free when buying the Wrinkle Retreat Pro Mask. Or you can go with two Skincare Wands and generously gift one to a friend in 2026.

Best deal for reducing screen time

Credit: Brick

The Brick

$53.10 at Brick
$59 Save $5.90

Why we like it

Does your 2026 New Year's Resolution involve reducing your time spent scrolling mindlessly? Enter The Brick. This tiny gadget has proven to be a surefire way to finally (finally) get us to stop spending so much time staring at something that doesn't really produce joy. Mashable Shopping Reporter Samantha Mangino tested out The Brick and wrote, "...the Brick is even great when I'm not trying to focus on something else. With all my most distracting apps blocked, I'm finally bored again. When I have some downtime, rather than defaulting to scrolling, it motivates me to spend more time reading or finally tackle those errands I've been putting off." In total, it cut Mangino's screen time in half.

As a New Year's treat, The Brick is 15% off, and one of the coolest parts about The Brick is that it works on multiple devices, so you can share one Brick with other people in your household.

Best sleep deal

Credit: Soundcore

Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds

$199.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $30

Why we like it

Sleep is one of the most important elements of health, both physical and mental. If you struggle to sleep because of a dog who runs around at midnight or a snoring partner, sleep earbuds can help. The Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds are designed to be comfortable enough to wear all night, even for side sleepers. They're the first sleep earbuds to come with noise cancellation.

In Mashable's review of the Sleep A30 earbuds, Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard noted these are the sleep earbuds you want if you're looking for a pair that sets the bar for all other sleep earbuds. Thanks to today's sale at Amazon, the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds are down to $199.99.

Best air quality monitor deal

Credit: Airthings

Airthings 2930 Wave Plus

$199.99 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $50

Why we like it

If you're looking for an all-encompassing way to take care of yourself, it's time to consider your indoor air quality. Especially in the winter, when we have windows closed, levels of CO2 can easily creep into unhealthy levels. Hanging out in high CO2 environments can lead to drowsiness, headaches, and an increased heart rate, according to the CDC.

The Airthings 2930 Wave Plus is an easy way to keep tabs on your indoor air quality through the app. If the CO2 reading shows a high number, all you'll need to do is open a few windows to get some fresh air inside. The Airthings also lets you know how your humidity and temperature are doing. If you live in an area that's prone to high levels of radon, this compact monitor will also give you useful radon readings.

Start your new year goals with 33% off this AI-powered Oral-B toothbrush

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 15:17:14 +0000

SAVE $50: As of Dec. 31, you can get the Oral-B iO Series 5 electric toothbrush for $99.99, down from $149.99, at Amazon. That's a 33% discount or $50 in savings.

Oral-B iO Series 5

$99.99 at Amazon
$149.99 Save $50.00

If you’re trying to make healthy changes for the new year, starting with your dental routine is an easy way to do it. It’s one of those small daily habits that actually makes a massive difference in how you feel, and you don’t have to overhaul your entire life to see the results.

As of Dec. 31, the Oral-B iO Series 5 electric toothbrush is on sale for $99.99, down from $149.99, at Amazon. That's 33% off the list price or $50 in savings. It's also the lowest price we've tracked for this bundle.

The iO Series 5 uses artificial intelligence to track where you're brushing in real-time through the Oral-B app, so you never miss a spot. It also features a visible pressure sensor that lights up to let you know if you're brushing too hard, too soft, or just right (a must-have for anyone worried about their gum health). With five different cleaning settings (including Daily Clean, Whiten, and Sensitive), you can personalize the experience to whatever your teeth need that day. Plus, this bundle includes three brush heads and a travel case.

The best fitness resolution deals to snag before we ring in 2026

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 16:56:15 +0000

Best deals for a fitness New Year's resolution

Best Apple fitness tracker deal

Apple Watch 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 (save $100)

Best workout earbuds deal

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2

$199.95 (save $50)

Best budget fitness tracker deal

CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro (Ash Grey)

$64.57 (save $34.43)

Best exercise bike deal

Peloton Bike

$1,445 (save $250)

Best fitness equipment deal

Hydrow Origin Rowing Machine

$1,695 (save $500)

Best fitness app deal

Peloton App One

$12.99 for three months (save $25.98)

Best hydration deal

Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler (30 ounce)

$26 (save $14)

Best fitness attire deal

Gymshark

take up to 50% off men's and women's styles

We're just days away from ringing in 2026. If you're like of us, we have intentions of being more active, heathy, and fit in the coming year. Cliche as it is, a new year is a great time for a fresh start with good-for-us habits. Getting fit is not only a gift for yourself, it's a gift to loved ones to keep yourself healthy and happy.

But workout resolutions tend to fall by the wayside quickly. In an attempt to stick to those new routines, it's helpful to have some fitness gear on hand that you love. Instead of dealing with headphones that fall out with every lift, a solid pair of workout earbuds can help with motivation. The same can be said for investing in a rowing machine or a workout app that you actually enjoy.

We've compiled the best fitness deals that we love ahead of the New Year. Upgrade to items that help you reach your goals from a great new water bottle to a shockingly inexpensive fitness tracker. Here are some great deals to snag today.

Best Apple fitness tracker deal

Credit: Apple

Apple Watch 11 (GPS, 42mm)

$299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100

Read our full review of the Apple Watch Series 11.

Why we like it

A fitness tracker is one of the best ways to easily keep tabs on your health journey. Whether you walk the dog twice a day or have plans to train for a marathon in 2026, the Apple Watch 11 is perfect smartwatch that's loaded with fitness-tracking features. With GPS in a 41mm size, it usually sells for $399 but Amazon has it on sale for only $299 ahead of the New Year.

In Mashable's rating of the best fitness trackers, the Apple Watch 11 earns top marks thanks to its gorgeous design, comfortable fit, and speedy charging.

More fitness tracker deals

Amazfit Bip 6 — $64.99 ~~$79.99~~ (save $15)
Fitbit Inspire 3 — $69.95 ~~$99.95~~ (save $30)
Fitbit Charge 6 — $119.95 ~~$159.95~~ (save $40)
Garmin Forerunner 55 — $149.99 ~~$199.99~~ (save $50)
Garmin Venu Sq 2 — $149.99 ~~$249.99~~ (save $100)
Garmin vívoactive 5 — $186.83 ~~$299.99~~ (save $113.16)
Whoop 5.0/MG — $199 ~~$239~~ (save $40)
Google Pixel Watch 4 (41mm) — $299.99 ~~$349.99~~ (save $50)

Best workout earbuds deal

Credit: Apple

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2

$199.95 at Amazon
$249.95 Save $50

Read our full review of the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 sports earbuds.

Why we like it

A good set of earbuds can make a world of difference, whether you're rocking out while working hard at the gym or listening to a podcast while walking around the neighborhood. In Mashable's analysis of the best workout earbuds, the Beats Prowerbeats Pro 2 earn the top spot. Lucky for us, they're $50 off at Amazon right now.

They satisfy the brief on so many levels like being durable, having accessible controls, and being comfortable enough for extended wear. Plus, the 10 hours of battery life is a big bonus.

More workout earbuds deals

JLab Go Sport+ — $19.99 ~~$29.88~~ (save $9.89)
Soundcore V20i — $39.99 ~~$49.99~~ (save $10)
JBL Endurance Peak 3 — $59.95 ~~$99.95~~ (save $40)
Beats Fit Pro (1st Gen) — $149 ~~$199.99~~ (save $50.95)
Soundcore AeroClip — $149.99 ~~$169.99~~ (save $20)
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds — $229 ~~$299~~ (save $70)

Best fitness equipment deal

Credit: Hydrow

Hydrow Origin Rowing Machine

$1,695 at Amazon
$2,195 Save $500

Why we like it

If you're not looking to join a gym this year but you still yearn for a great workout from home, it's hard to beat a Hydrow. A rowing workout is a full-body strengthening experience and its low-impact is great for folks of all ages. Hydrow does is right with the Origin Rowing Machine which has a 22-inch rotating screen so you can follow along with beginner-friendly workouts or intense strength exercises. Snagging it from Amazon today will put you in line for a $500 discount which is a solid start to the New Year.

More fitness equipment deals

Merach Water Rowing Machine — $269.99 ~~$499.99~~ (save $230)
Merach R50 Rowing Machine — $449.99 ~~$799.99~~ (save $350)
NordicTrack T Series Treadmill — $699 ~~$999~~ (save $300)
Echelon Stride-6 Treadmill — $1,699.99 ~~$1,999.99~~ (save $300)
Ergatta Luxe Rowing Machine — $1,899 ~~$2,499~~ (save $600)

Shark CryoGlow mask review after 10 months: The only way Ill ever stop using this is if Shark releases a new one

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:10:01 +0000

I've had a Solawave red light therapy wand in one of my bathroom organizers for probably two years now. I really wanted to love it, but it just didn't provide noticeable enough results for me to remember to use it. So it should say something that I never forgot to use the Shark CryoGlow red light mask in the few months that I was testing it — and beyond.

The Shark CryoGlow mask's $349.99 price tag isn't exactly cheap, but it isn't expensive compared to the other top red light masks on the market. The price feels much fairer when the CryoGlow has a few unique flexes that separate it from popular competitors like the $395 Omnilux mask and $349 Solawave mask.

Shark hair tools like the FlexStyle have cemented themselves as formidable fixtures in the hair care world for years now. But the CryoGlow is Shark's first attempt at esthetics — one carefully designed over time after input from dermatologists, evidence from clinical trials, and customer feedback about other red light devices on the market. I learned all about its lore at SharkBeauty's launch event for the mask in January 2025, then brought one home to test for myself.

What does the Shark CryoGlow mask do?

The Shark face mask targets fine lines, acne, dark circles, and generally uneven skin texture. These are the main benefits of red light therapy (and blue light and infrared light), often yearned for when even the most devout skincare routines aren't doing enough.

The CryoMask is lined with 160 interlocking tri-wick LED bulbs, spanning all corners of the face and even a little under the jaw. Everyone calls it an LED mask, but if you want to get fancy, it's technically iQLED.

The Shark CryoGlow mask weighs around 1.5 pounds. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The pink glow is achieved when blue and red light are shining simultaneously. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

That 160 beats the 132 LEDs of the Omnilux mask or the 14 LEDs of the Solawave wand, so that's noteworthy on its own — but the "tri-wick" thing is crucial, too. Tri-wick means that every single one of those bulbs can emit each wavelength, so you're getting full-face light coverage regardless of the setting. Scientifically, this would be clocked in terms of irradiance: a measurement of power density at the source of the LED. The Shark CryoGlow hits a maximum radiance of 128mW/cm² compared to the 30mW/cm² of the Omnilux.

(The bulbs in several competing masks can't all illuminate simultaneously because they're either single-wick or bi-wick, meaning half turn off when their designated color isn't being used.)

The nanometer measurement of each wavelength plays a huge role in skin penetration. The Shark CryoGlow uses a 415nm blue light targeting the skin's surface layer and 630nm red light with 830nm infrared to travel to the deeper, cellular layer of skin.

So, what's the difference between red light and blue light? All you really need to determine is the skincare concern you'd like to target, then scroll through the CryoGlow remote's settings to choose one. Shark designed the two main settings to be used for an initial eight-week session with daily use.

Better Aging mode: This mode stimulates collagen production and promotes plumping under the skin, making it the best setting for targeting fine lines and wrinkles. Here, the mask administers a combination of red and infrared light simultaneously for six minutes.

Blemish Repair mode: This is used to kill acne-causing bacteria and improve skin clarity and texture on the top layer of the skin. Here, the mask administers a consecutive concoction of blue light with infrared for a few minutes, then blue and red light together for a few minutes, then red light + infrared for a few minutes. It takes eight minutes total.

Skin Sustain mode: This is used to maintain your results and get a daily boost of brightness after your initial eight-week cycle is over. Skin Sustain administers blue light, red light, and infrared light simultaneously for a total of four minutes.

After each session is completed, the Shark mask turns off by itself. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The remote keeps track of how many sessions you've completed. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Each cycle's timing was calculated based on the wavelength combination of that setting — it's a much more precise approach than Googling "how long you should use red light therapy for." During the science part of the discussion at the launch event, it clicked for me: The momentary swipe of a red light wand with a one-inch surface is a really small amount of true LED exposure. This cleared up a lot of my confusion about my lack of Solawave wand results when it worked well for other people.

The Shark mask isn't overly chill to wear, but it's quick

I doubt there's anyone out there researching the best red light mask to buy and expecting to not look like Dwight in that episode of The Office where he cuts off the CPR dummy's face. It's just part of the game.

Still, the Shark mask definitely isn't the chicest or slimmest mask I've seen. It's not foldable like some other models, and is also a little clunky when it comes to storage. The heavy packer in me could not take this thing in a suitcase, even though it comes with a carrying pouch.

I wish the remote were wireless, but it does have a pants clip. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

My cat isn't scared of the mask. I kind of am. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

There's definitely no answering the door like this, but you know what? The horror fanatic in me does not mind casually walking around the apartment looking like Jason Voorhees for a few minutes (though I am a proud Michael Myers girlie at heart — argue with yourself).

The CryoGlow doesn't necessarily feel heavy if you're just scrolling on your phone while wearing it. But it does start to feel a little bulky if you're performing a real task that requires looking down. I kept trying to feed my cats during morning CryoGlow sessions and had to strain my neck to accurately scoop the wet food into the bowls on the counter.

The mask itself is rechargeable and doesn't need to be plugged into the wall while being used; instead, it needs to be charged about every three days. Though the remote and its cord mostly stay out of the way, it would be sick if it were cordless.

The CryoGlow takes a few hours to fully recharge. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The thing is, no Shark CryoGlow session lasts longer than eight minutes. You're not really being inconvenienced for long. The fans are whooshing right in your ear, but it's not so loud that you can't hear a conversation or watch TV. Honestly, the hardest part of wearing it is sitting there with air-dried skin without something moisturizing on it — Shark recommends a clean, dry face for light to best penetrate, but the itchy feeling post-cleansing makes me want to tear my whole face off.

Shark CryoGlow results: First three months, then a 10-month update

I kind of stopped giving a shit about how I look without makeup after my frontal lobe developed. But the CryoGlow marks a time in my life when I genuinely feel cute bare-faced. I truly feel like there's more of an inherent glow and evenness to my skin after my full CryoGlow session than I've ever had before.

But I know everyone is most interested in the full transformation, so fine, I'll give you a "before" picture. But before I expose myself like that, I'm entitled to show the "after" picture first.

My skin after completing the full CryoGlow session. (Peep the sticker in the phone case — I TOLD YOU I was a Michael Myers girlie.) Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

I promise my skin is smooth in this photo — the only leftover "spots" are discoloration from previous giant pimples. I've accepted the fact that I need to pay for more microneedling to uproot those.

Does the Shark mask work on acne?

Every little kid dreams of growing up, having a mental breakdown about adult acne at age 30, and publishing a close-up photo of it in an online article for work. But I have to showcase the full transformation to show that yes, the Shark CryoGlow mask really does keep acne formation at bay.

Before: No concealer/foundation combo was hiding these. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

After: No makeup, just morning skincare! Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

For context, I'm 30 years old and never really struggled with acne... up until about four years ago. It's been a battle to keep my chin, jawline, and cheeks clear since then. I was living in fear of waking up with a new pimple cooking after I had just gotten the last one to simmer down. Mine were in areas typically associated with fluctuating hormones.

All of that was happening while never skipping my nighttime skincare routine and attending a few microneedling appointments, my last of which was three months before I started testing the Shark mask. While I do believe my religious Tretinoin use has improved the texture of my skin, it was outnumbered by hellbent acne. The only true slowdown of pimples I experienced started a month into using the CryoGlow. I went from a new painful crater popping up almost every day to maybe one or two every two weeks.

(The only other changes I recently made were spritzes of hypochlorous acid after waking up or going outside, and taking a Zinc supplement after TikTok suggested that could help with acne.)

The CryoGlow is excellent at fighting bacteria that causes acne and reducing redness of the ones that do exist, it doesn't really reduce acne scars or deep leftover red spots — and doesn't claim to. Those just seem to be stubborn little marks that probably require an in-office facial treatment.

Does the Shark mask work on fine lines?

Yes, the Shark mask made the fine lines in some areas of my face less noticeable.

The needlelike presence of my forehead wrinkles had become increasingly prominent in the last few years of my 20s. Makeup was making the texture even more noticeable, especially when it began creasing after a few hours. I finally started getting occasional forehead Botox about two years ago, and let me tell you: Botox is that girl. But the baby wrinkles soon creep back in, and keeping up with it gets expensive.

I'm fully convinced that the Shark CryoGlow mask was key in mellowing out my forehead lines enough to keep me out of the Botox chair for months longer than I'm "supposed" to. (For context: My last Botox appointment was five months before testing the Shark CryoGlow, and I did not get any Botox treatments while testing the mask.)

Concealer and powder were blending more seamlessly than they previously did when I was overdue. There's nothing like that post-Botox forehead plumpness, but the CryoGlow provided the next best thing for me — a smoothness that no serums in targeted Instagram ads are going to achieve.

Unfortunately, the CryoGlow didn't have the same blurring effect around my crow's feet. God forbid you're someone who LAUGHS.

Does the Shark mask work on under eyes?

I definitely think I look less like a corpse on the days when I use the CryoGlow's under-eye chill pads. This is where the "Cryo" part of the title comes in: the mask is mimics cryotherapy, which can lower inflammation of the tissue using targeted low temperatures. The chill pads can cool at three different levels of chilly during an LED session, or can be used without lights.

The CryoGlow's de-puffing effects don't feel super long-lasting — keep in mind that this is more of an elevated ice roller routine each morning than a heavy-duty under-eye treatment. You can't expect hollowness to permanently fill out, but I can vouch for the brightening effect. At any rate, the cool metal plates feel amazing when you're a zombie in the morning. If this sounds enticing to you but not enticing enough to spend $349.99, keep an eye out for when Shark releases the heating and cooling DePuffi device by itself in early 2026.

After almost a year, the Shark mask is still the mother of all skincare devices to me

Fast forward from May (when this review originally published) to December, I have since tested another top red light mask (the CurrentBody Skin Series 2 mask) as well as Shark's newest skincare device, the Shark FacialPro Glow. The FacialPro Glow isn't a direct comparison, since it targets clogged pores, dead skin, and sebaceous filaments, which aren't really on the radar of red light therapy. I think the FacialPro Glow is a great gift idea for a teenage girl, though.

In terms of which red light mask is the best, my resounding recommendation is the Shark mask over the CurrentBody mask. While the CurrentBody mask gets a few points for its flexible, more portable build, it's much more basic than the Shark mask.

A look at the LED bulb situation between the CurrentBody and Shark face masks. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The CurrentBody Skin Series 2 doesn't offer blue light at all, so some pimples popped up when I paused CryoGlow usage to test the CurrentBody. There's no customizing based on your current skin concern with the CurrentBody mask either — it doesn't have settings (just on and off), and there's no screen on the remote to provide a countdown timer. It's just an overall less luxurious experience that costs $120 more than the CryoGlow.

When researching other people's thoughts on both of these masks, the most common CryoGlow mask disadvantage I've seen is the lack of red lights around the eye (instead, the cooling pads are there). If fine lines around the eye are a much bigger concern for you than acne, then yes, you'd absolutely be better off going the CurrentBody route. I personally found the CurrentBody's eye-centric red lights blinding, to the point where I didn't want to wear the mask every day.

Is the Shark CryoGlow Mask worth it?

Shark's face mask continues to prove its worth in my skincare routine, and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.

The way my acne cleared up during the eight-week period was easily the most palpable result, and near-daily Shark mask usage has worked wonders on my skin's overall texture (and appearance without makeup) for almost a year now. I'm not saying you'll never get a pimple while using the mask, but I do think the CryoGlow's red, blue, and infrared concoction is extremely effective at mitigating the amount of acne popping up. Similarly, because its wavelengths can dig further into the skin than topical skincare, it's a more powerful tool for dulling fine lines than any retinols or retinoids I've tried. With less-dead under eyes in the morning as the cherry on top, I am glowier and more comfortable bare-faced now than I was pre-mask.

The Shark CryoGlow mask may or may not be able to accomplish these exact results for everyone from scratch. It probably depends on the skin you're working with to start, and the consistency of the rest of your skincare routine. The CryoGlow is definitely a slight financial investment up front, but most people deep in skincare mode know that no route to glass skin is cheap. Plus, regular CryoGlow use could end up saving you money over time.

Shark CryoGlow LED face mask

$349 at Amazon

The Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds are a major 40% off at Amazon and some lucky shoppers will get delivery before Christmas

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:12:41 +0000

SAVE $72: The Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds are on sale at Amazon for $107.99, down from the list price of $179.99. That's a 40% discount that matches the record low at Amazon.

Credit: Soundcore

Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds

$107.99 at Amazon
$179.99 Save $72.00

A thoughtful gift that someone will use everyday is hard to come up with. Mashable's gift guides can help, but we have a special recommendation for that someone who is always struggling to get quality sleep. If that's someone on your Christmas shopping list, check out this thoughtful gift that's on sale at Amazon.

As of Dec. 23, the Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds are on sale at Amazon for $107.99, marked down from the list price of $179.99. That's a savings of $72 thanks to the 40% discount. This sale price matches the rarely-seen record low at Amazon. Depending on the delivery address, these might arrive in time for Christmas.

Whether it's a partner snoring, the cat running around, or the neighbor's party, noise is a big sleep disruptor. Putting on a fan or a white noise machine helps some people, but you have another option in sleep earbuds. The Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds are designed to be comfortable enough to wear all night long, even for side sleepers.

Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard tested out sleep earbuds and found the Soundcore Sleep A20 to be the best option for most people. The earbuds let you stream your own audio or sleep sounds from the Soundcore app. They also track sleep data and come with six different earbud tips.

Soundcore mentions the Sleep A20 earbuds get about 80 hours of playtime before they'll need to recharge, which means you'll have to recharge about once per week, depending on how much you sleep. And don't worry about sleeping through an alarm — you can set that to play on the earbuds.

While they're back at a record-low price, snatch up the Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds. Gift them to a loved one who could use some better sleep or buy them for yourself as motivation to get better rest in 2026.

The Eight Sleep Pod 5 is a (spendy) miracle of a bed setup. But it’s only ideal for some people.

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:15:09 +0000

Like it or not, sleep is a non-negotiable aspect of being alive. We human beings require sleep to continue functioning. The problem is, for plenty of people, sleep is an elusive beast. For a gigantic list of reasons, people struggle to get enough high-quality sleep and keep that sleep schedule consistent.

One of the main sleep disruptors is temperature. Some of us can sweat through the sheets in January, while others cannot warm up no matter how many wool duvets they add to the bed. The Eight Sleep Pod 5 aims to remedy temperature as a reason why you cannot get restorative sleep. It does this, primarily, with the Pod’s Cover, which slips over your mattress like a fitted sheet. You get to set your ideal Cover temperature, or you can let the Eight Sleep Autopilot take the wheel, which will make adjustments throughout the night.

Plenty of us have gone to great lengths to find the secret to getting great sleep, but the Eight Sleep Pod 5 has a glaring factor — it’s really, really expensive. We’re talking between $3,000 and $6,000+ for a queen-size setup, depending on how luxurious you want to go. Since that number is not one most people find easy to swallow, I slept on the Eight Sleep Pod 5 for several months to decide if I think it’s worth the price. In the end, I’ve come to love almost everything about the Pod 5, and I miss it when I’m not sleeping at home, but I did find some aspects frustrating. My detailed adventure with the Eight Sleep Pod 5 takes off from here.

Disclaimer: If you deal with chronic sleep issues, please seek out professional medical guidance before turning to any type of physical product for relief.

How does the Eight Sleep Pod 5 system work?

It’s helpful to get the whole overview of how the Pod works before I dive into what my experience was like sleeping on the system. At its core, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 is a cover that slips over your mattress much like a fitted sheet. But this cover contains a network of small tubes that pump either hot or cold water throughout. The aim here is to either warm you up or cool you down, and therefore, help you get better sleep.

The brains of this water system sit in the Eight Sleep Pod Hub, which sits next to your bed and attaches to the cover via a thick cord. Sleepers control the cover’s temperature through the Eight Sleep app or with three buttons located on the side of the cover. There’s also an autopilot mode that hands off temperature control to the app, and it’ll adjust throughout the night to what it thinks will help you sleep best.

The Pod Cover connects to the Hub, which sits near the bed. Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable

Besides heating and cooling, the cover has some serious smarts in the name of sleep metrics. It detects heart rate and breathing patterns, and monitors sleep stages. All of that info gets sent to the app, which then gives a detailed nightly report on sleep quality. It also has a vibration function, allowing you to set an alarm to wake you up via vibration every morning, which is really snazzy and infinitely better than a cellphone alarm.

The blanket

In addition to the cover, sleepers can add the Eight Sleep Pod 5 blanket to the setup. It works in a similar fashion to the cover with small water tubing throughout that sends either warm or cool water through the channels. The blanket connects to the cover via cords to the ports located at the foot of the cover. Conveniently, the cords tuck under your mattress, so there’s little risk of kicking the blanket cords while you sleep.

An easy click-to-connect system attaches the blanket to the cover. Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable

The temperature for the blanket is also controlled in the app. Since the Hub controls the temperature of both the cover and the blanket, you’ll need to select one temperature for both products.

The base

For an extra luxurious slumber, Eight Sleep sells an adjustable base to pair with your mattress, the Pod’s cover, and the blanket. The adjustable base articulates at the head and the foot, so you’re free to adjust either area to find your perfect combo. In the app, you can move the base into pre-set positions for reading, relaxing, or sleeping, or keep it flat. Getting more particular, you can adjust the head and foot to the specific degree of your liking.

At times during testing, I found the reading position to feel too upright, but the lower relax position to be too close to lying down, so I adjusted the degree of incline, which is super easy to do in the app. The Eight Sleep base also has a built-in speaker that can lull you off to sleep with the soothing sounds of a rainforest and awaken you with soft beach waves. You can also go with pink noise, white noise, or brown noise.

Choose your favorite degree on the adjustable base. Credit: Screenshot: Eight Sleep app

The base can listen for snoring and adjust the head to help mitigate. Credit: Screenshot: Eight Sleep app

Another major benefit of the base is its snoring mitigation function. When the base detects snoring, it’ll raise the head area slightly. This small adjustment is undetectable, and its aim is to prop sleepers up in a better position to open their air passages, hopefully putting an end to snoring.

Since plenty of us get poor sleep on account of a partner snoring, myself included, this automatic adjustment is a lifesaver. I haven’t noticed my partner snoring in months, aside from the times we’ve been staying at a friend’s house where there was no Eight Sleep Pod provided in the guest room. Sigh.

Surprise! Setting up the Eight Sleep Pod 5 is super easy.

Since I tested the entire Eight Sleep Pod 5, which includes the cover, blanket, adjustable base, and legs for the base, I had a total of eight boxes. To say I was intimidated by the setup is an understatement. But to my absolute delight, it was super easy. Yes, it was a lengthy process that took several hours, but it was all straightforward. I had the help of my partner, but none of the elements would have been unmanageable by myself. The adjustable base is split into two sides, which makes it easier to carry into the bedroom. Perhaps best of all, the setup requires zero tools.

Setting up the cover, blanket, and adjustable base was straightforward, thanks to the app's instructions. Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable

All you need to set up any and all elements of the Eight Sleep Pod 5 system is distilled water, a WiFi connection, the app up and running, and some time. I’ve assembled simple platform mattress bases that were far more complicated than the Pod 5. Phew. The app takes you through detailed setup instructions in a way that makes the entire process a cinch.

What I loved about sleeping with the Eight Sleep Pod 5

In truth, I loved a lot about the Eight Sleep Pod 5. Seattle summers have followed the global trend of getting way too hot, and most of us don’t have AC. I sleep hot to begin with, so summers have felt especially evil to me. The Eight Sleep Pod 5 made me forget what it was like to sweat the bed every single night. In my several months of testing, I woke up sweaty exactly once. Just one time I woke up drenched. Before the Pod 5, it was a rare occurrence if I didn’t wake up soaked. The difference was shocking. I also deal with migraines from dehydration, so having a sleep solution that keeps me from sweating a ton and losing a bunch of water at night has been a miracle.

Controls on each side of the bed means you don't have to look at your phone to make temperature adjustments in the middle of the night. Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable

My testing continued into the fall, and once the weather turned rainy and gray, I found comfort and pleasure in crawling into a pre-warmed bed each night. Napping on a pre-warmed bed also felt like I had unearthed some kind of hidden level of enjoyment in life that I didn’t have access to before the Pod 5.

The Pod 5’s base also changed my partner’s proclivity for snoring. In fact, it stopped it entirely. Not once did I wake up to shake him. I have to assume that not only did I sleep way better because of this, but he did, too.

Things I didn't love about the Eight Sleep Pod 5

Sleeping on the Pod 5 for the first two weeks or so was a journey, and I often wanted to get off the Pod train. Some nights, I woke up too cold and had to reach for my phone to bump up the temperature. (My partner preferred to make temperature adjustments with the Cover’s side controls, but I always went into the app.) Other nights, I woke up too hot and had to lower the temperature. All of that disrupted my sleep, probably more than getting sweaty would have.

In the app, select your ideal temperature for bedtime, night, and dawn. Autopilot will make adjustments, if you'd like. Credit: Screenshot: Eight Sleep app

A nightly look at how autopilot adjusted the cover's temperature. Credit: Screenshot: Eight Sleep app

It took several weeks for me to get acquainted with the Pod 5 and for it to get used to my preferences. On occasion, the bed would decide a toasty +7 was optimal for my bedtime temperature, which felt like I was sleeping on the sun itself. Other nights it went with a more moderate +5. I told it +3 was my preference, but the cover did what it wanted at times. To this day, it still spurts out bedtime temperatures seemingly at random. This, however, is easy to adjust in the app.

Because the Eight Sleep Pod 5’s Blanket has water channels, it’s heavier than your normal duvet insert and cover. Personally, I love a weighted blanket, so the Pod 5’s blanket is heaven for me. My partner, however, does not like weighted blankets and is not in love with the hefty feel of the blanket. The Blanket is an add-on to the Pod’s Cover, so I only recommend going for it if you enjoy the feel of a weighted blanket.

I love the weight of the Eight Sleep blanket. My partner doesn't. Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable

Who might love the Eight Sleep Pod 5

After sleeping on the Pod 5 for months through several seasons, I’ve compiled a list of people who I think would get significant benefit from the Sleep Pod 5 and might be able to justify the price. They include:

Especially hot sleepers who don’t find relief with bedding or a breathable mattress
Cold sleepers who can’t warm up with bedding
Those who live in a warm environment without AC
People with persistent aches and pains
Couples who prefer to sleep at different temperatures
Sleepers who are dealing with hot flashes
Those who are super interested in detailed sleep metrics

In essence, if you want better control of temperature paired with detailed sleep metrics but you don’t want a wearable sleep tracker, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 could be ideal.

Sizing options for the Eight Sleep Pod 5

Eight Sleep offers the Pod 5 in full, queen, king, and California king sizes. All of these sizes are capable of supporting two sleepers, with separate temperature controls on each side. However, if you sleep alone, you can indicate that during the initial setup to have the entire bed set for one sleeper.

The separate sides make the Pod easier for couples to use since temperature preferences tend to vary. It’s also ideal for when one person is napping and the other isn’t, or if your bedtimes vary. But the lack of a twin-size is a miss, in my opinion. After testing the Pod for months, I think older people who deal with pain or lower mobility are great candidates for the Pod 5, but they’ll have to be in a full-size bed or larger. The lack of a twin also means you can’t use the Pod 5 for a split king set-up, which is identical to two twins in a side-by-side arrangement. I love the idea of a split king adjustable base with the Eight Sleep Pod since this would allow each sleeper to choose their ideal base position, in addition to the temperature.

The Autopilot membership is extra

When you buy the Eight Sleep Pod 5, you’ll also need to select your Autopilot plan for the first year of ownership. The options include standard, enhanced, and elite, with varying levels of metrics and functions attached to each plan. These memberships provide access to Pod 5’s Autopilot feature, which enables your Cover to adjust the temperature throughout the night to what it deems most comfortable. Here’s the pricing breakdown for the first year:

Standard: $199
Enhanced: $299
Elite: $399

Each Autopilot membership gives two users access to the plan, so you only need one plan per bed. And here’s what’s included:

Standard: Autopilot temperature adjustments, sleep and health reports, vibrating and thermal alarms, snoring detection, and a two-year warranty
Enhanced: Everything in Standard, but with a five-year warranty
Elite: Everything in Enhanced plus advanced wellbeing monitoring, cardiovascular monitoring, and respiratory monitoring, like abnormal heart rates or breathing patterns.

It’s not possible to purchase the Pod 5 without signing up for one of these plans. However, after your first year, you can bail on the plan. But that means the Pod Cover will not automatically adjust temperature at night, and you’ll need to set it manually. You’ll also lose access to vibrating and thermal alarms, and you won’t get sleep tracking metrics, either. Boiled down, without the Autopilot plan, the Cover is pretty much just a fancy heated or cooling mattress cover. I fail to see much allure in using the Pod 5 Cover without the plan, so I’d factor the annual price into the overall cost of ownership.

An always-improving app that’s hungry for details

I’ll hand it to Eight Sleep — the developers put so much thoughtful design into the Pod 5 that it’s complicated to explain every feature of the bed and the app. Even a month after sleeping on the Pod 5, I would open the app to find a new area with new metrics and controls that I did not know existed.

The app is a complex beast, and I think data-driven folks will love it. Each morning, you get a comprehensive look at how you slept the previous night, including time spent in REM, deep sleep, and overview numbers that include how much time you spent asleep and how long sleep interruptions lasted.

The app also lets you see sleep biometrics, like resting heart rate, heart rate variability, snoring time, and breath rate. In addition to these detailed metrics, the app has some functions I’m pretty smitten with, like nap mode and a jet lag protocol. There’s also a special function that those who are transitioning into menopause will be thrilled about.

Hot flash mode could be a savior for those who deal with disrupted sleep from them. Credit: Screenshot: Eight Sleep app

The away function in the Eight Sleep app is snazzy. Credit: Screenshot: Eight Sleep app

Hot Flash Mode

About a month into my testing journey, Eight Sleep launched a new Hot Flash Mode. Once enabled, this mode lets sleepers alert the Cover about a hot flash, which will send the cover into a super quick cooling mode for a set amount of time. You get to choose the temperature drop and the duration. To make this easier than heading into the app when experiencing a hot flash, you can assign Hot Flash Mode to a button on the cover’s side.

I got to chat with Dr. Nicole Moyen, Eight Sleep’s Director of Science & Clinical Research, about Hot Flash Mode. She explained that about 80 percent of people in perimenopause will experience hot flashes, and many will go through several each night. Not only is this uncomfortable temperature spike disruptive to sleep, but Dr. Moyen also said it’s basically impossible to predict when a hot flash will occur.

She said Eight’s Sleep’s own research has shown that simply sleeping on the Pod itself can cut the normal instance rate in half, even without using Hot Flash Mode. “We’re lowering people’s core body temperature and therefore keeping them within a narrow thermostat range that the brain needs,” she explained over our video call. But with Hot Flash Mode, sleepers can access rapid cooling in an attempt to mitigate the hot flash. Plus, the Pod will warm back up after the set time. Dr. Moyen explained that this experience is a stark contrast to how most people experience a hot flash, which involves intense heat, sweating, and getting out of bed to cool down — not to mention this is often followed by chills on account of the now sweaty bed.

I haven’t experienced the joy of hot flashes yet, but I tested out the function, and it does exactly what it should: cools you like you’re on fire. For people who deal with interrupted sleep each night for years on account of hot flashes, I can see how this feature could offer great relief. Plus, it could mean less disruption to a partner.

Away mode

When you head off on vacation or leave for the weekend and won't be around to sleep on the Pod 5, the app has an away mode. It takes you into a calendar to select when you'll be leaving and when you're returning. When setting up this schedule, you can indicate if both sleepers will be gone or just one. This'll put the bed in a dormant mode until your return. If you happen to come back earlier than expected, it's easy to push the "I'm back" option, and the Pod 5 will resume its normal schedule.

A bed that lives on WiFi

We all love WiFi, but the Eight Sleep Pod 5 is really, really in love with that connection. In fact, it hardly works without access to WiFi. That means the AWS outage took every Eight Sleep Pod offline. My bed went cold, but I was fine once I put on warmer pajamas and grabbed an extra blanket. Other users were in worse shape, and some took to the internet to complain of missing work because the bed’s alarm didn’t go off or struggling to sleep because it was too hot or too cold.

The following day, the brand's CEO, Matteo Franceschetti, posted on his X account that Eight Sleep would roll out Backup Mode, making some of the bed’s functions available via Bluetooth, bypassing the need for WiFi. If AWS crashes or your WiFi goes out, you can still adjust temperature and elevation. Some features won’t work, like the bed’s Autopilot adjustments, and the bed won’t turn on automatically at bedtime like it usually does, but you can manually set the temperature.

Eight Sleep said this new feature’s rollout would be “gradual,” and I haven’t seen any update on my Pod. But this update gives potential owners reassurance that their beds will still be able to heat or cool in the event of an outage. Keep in mind you’re still kinda screwed if the power goes out, unless you own a portable power station or have a generator for home backup.

A sad note about cleaning

You’re probably wondering how you’d go about cleaning a mattress cover that includes a network of water tubing. I sure was while I was testing. The answer is a pretty big letdown — you can’t. The Eight Sleep Pod 5 cover is not safe to clean in the washing machine. Instead, you’ll need to spot clean it as necessary with water and a smidge of soap. The Pod’s blanket is also not machine washable, and the tag notes instructions to “spot clean with a damp cloth only.

This brings me to urge caution to anyone who has pets or small kids from investing in the Pod 5. Any accident from pets, kids, or yourself (like spilled coffee or wine) could be near impossible to thoroughly and hygienically clean. Should you sweat at night (hopefully not, thanks to the temperature control), that could also soak into the non-cleanable cover.

Pair this with the premium price of the Eight Sleep Pod 5, and I’m not feeling like this is a wise splurge for those who share a bed with kids or pets. In theory, you could add a waterproof mattress protector over the Pod 5 Cover, but that could also create a barrier between you and the cooling or heating effects that cost top-dollar.

Is the Eight Sleep Pod 5 worth the price?

In a queen-size, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 with Hub and Cover sells for $3,248 with the Standard Autopilot plan. If you add the blanket and adjustable base to the setup and go with the Elite Autopilot plan, the queen-size price shoots up to $6,497. That’s a heavy lift for most people, especially considering you have to bring your own mattress to the party.

But before I say I think the Pod 5 is too expensive, I have to point out that sleep is one of the most important pillars for us human beings. Sacrificing sleep is not smart, and the CDC mentions it's a large player in how our immune system functions and a major player in overall heart health and brain function.

With that in mind, if you cannot sleep because you’re too hot or too cold, the Eight Sleep Pod 5 might very well be worth the high price tag. If the Pod 5 allows you to get better sleep even for just one year, it works out to about $8 per night in the queen size. If we up the time frame to five years, it works out to just $1.67 per night. That’s not much for an investment in wellbeing and health.

I don’t think the Eight Sleep Pod 5 is a good investment for all sleepers, but it could be a life-changer for some. Considering some people drop more than the price of the entire Eight Sleep Pod 5 setup to spend one week on a cruise ship with Mickey Mouse (no shade — those Disney cruises look incredible), I don’t think the $3,049 price tag or even the $6,395 price for the cover, blanket, and base is all that wild.

Sleep has the power to make a dramatic difference in almost every aspect of our waking hours, and if the Eight Sleep Pod 5 helps you get better sleep, I think it’s well worth the price. Keep in mind, Eight Sleep offers a 30-day trial, so you have some reassurance knowing you have a month of sleeping on the Pod 5 to decide if it’s a worthwhile investment.

It took me a while to fall in love with the Pod 5, but now that we’ve gotten to know each other better, I’m a big fan.

A parting note: You deserve an adjustable base

When testing the entire Eight Sleep Pod 5 setup with the temperature-regulating cover and blanket with the adjustable base, something stuck out to me: an adjustable base is a next-level sleep accessory that you need. Adding an adjustable base to your bedroom setup makes it feel like you splurged to book the first-class suite every single night. The pleasure of hanging out in bed to watch shows, read, or reply to emails while cozy in an elevated position is something I underestimated.

Sleeping with the head slightly elevated is great for those who deal with light snoring, and raising the feet is optimal for athletes or those who work on their feet all day, since it can help with blood flow. But the simple luxury of reading in bed while sitting up on a stable surface (instead of an unstable pillow pile) is a life upgrade I wholeheartedly recommend. Temperature-adjusting Eight Sleep Pod or not, an adjustable base is a life changer.

Credit: Eight Sleep

Eight Sleep Pod 5

$3,048 at Eight Sleep

Queen-size

The best blenders for every task

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 05:00:00 +0000

This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.

It might come as a surprise to cocktail fans but blenders can be used for more than just frozen margaritas. They can also be used for healthy living. Shocking, right?

You can make hot soup without a hob, coffee without a coffee maker, and whipped cream without a whisk. That's just a little taster of what a multitasking blender can tackle. Indeed, a blender can expand your meal repertoire tenfold, and without needing multiple kitchen-cluttering machines. It's an all-in-one marvel.

But where to start when actually choosing a blender? Each model has its own selection of features, which means different will suit different blending needs. So unless you’re a blender expert, it can be difficult to know what’s what and which machine is best for you. This is where we can help. Here's some useful information and a selection of the best blenders available right now.

Is a blender and food processor the same thing?

As a general rule, blenders are for liquids — juice, smoothies, shakes, soups, and purees — whereas food processors will slice, chop, grate, shred, and dice. However, you’ll find some blenders have attachments, such as detachable food mixing bowls, that allow them to double up as a blender/food processor combo.

Why do you need a blender?

The ability to make your own juice, smoothies, and protein shakes isn't the only reason to invest in a blender. These devices can also help you to establish healthy habits. Blenders simplify meeting your nutrient goal by squeezing everything into a 30-second meal replacement. With thousands of recipes online, you're bound to find a balanced combo of greens and fruits that you actually look forward to drinking.

Being completely in charge of the contents lets you closely monitor portion size, stick to dietary restrictions, and track macronutrients to stay on track with diet goals. You'll never need to buy sickeningly expensive juice again.

Do blenders have smart features?

Blenders can be as basic or as advanced as you want (depending on what you’re willing to spend, of course). There are simple blenders that cost next to nothing and have a simple on/off switch, or tech-savvy blenders that connect to an app via Bluetooth. These apps might provide recipes or keep records of nutrition or health goals. There are other features to look out for, such as pre-set blending programs. These can be geared to specifically make soup, smoothies, or frozen desserts. Some blenders can automatically detect the load and adjust their motors and settings accordingly.

What is the best blender capacity?

The capacity of a blender will vary. There are personal-use blenders, which have a container big enough for one person (around 700ml), and multi-serve blenders, which have a much bigger container (2 litres or more). But many blenders come with different sized containers, allowing you to switch between sizes as required. We especially like blenders that have a sports bottle attachment, which can be used to make a smoothie or juice. Simply detach the bottle, pop a lid on, and off you go.

What is the best blender?

That’s up to you. We can’t make the decision on your behalf. That's kind of the point of a blender — you know the ingredients you like and you can make the smoothie or meal exactly how you want it. That's also true when choosing the machine. It has to be one that suits your needs, routine, and kitchen. What we can do, however, is draw up a list of the best blenders for everyone, to help you find something that's perfect for you.

These are the best blenders in 2025.

Save $60 on the Fitbit Charge 6 and get Audible free for 60 days this Black Friday

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 21:45:50 +0000

SAVE $60: The Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness Tracker is on sale for $99.95 over at Amazon. This is $60 less than its regular price, so don’t miss out.

Fitbit Charge 6

$125 at Amazon
$159.95 Save $34.95

With Black Friday over, we’re heading into Cyber Monday, and you can start finding (or find leftover) a bunch of deals all around the internet. The Fitbit Charge 6 is $60 off and also comes with 60 days of Audible for free when you purchase it.

This fitness tracker helps keep track of metrics such as calories burned and sleep, so that you can stay on top of your exercise and rest. It has over 40 exercise modes and will provide you with insights from your daily runs, bike rides, and strength training workouts. This way, you’ll be able to keep track of your personal goals too.

Aside from the fitness-related features, the Fitbit Charge 6 has other useful apps such as YouTube Music, Google Maps, and Google Wallet, making it a great tool both in and out of the gym. With a built-in GPS, you can also map out your workout routes using the Fitbit mobile app.

The Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness tracker usually goes for $159.99, but with this early Cyber Monday deal, you can get it for only $99.95. Don’t forget to check out other fitness tracker deals we’ve gathered for you over Black Friday weekend, some of which are still available.

Credit: WHOOP

WHOOP 5.0/MG

$199 at Amazon
$239 Save $40

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Inspire 3

$69.95 at Amazon
$99.95 Save $30

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Versa 4

$119.95 at Amazon
$199.95 Save $80.00

Credit: Garmin

Garmin Vivoactive 5

$184.99 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $115

Grab a Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch for under $200 at Amazon before Cyber Monday 2025

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 17:18:02 +0000

SAVE $115: As of Nov. 29, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is on sale for a record low price of $184.99, down from its list price of $300.

Credit: Garmin

Garmin Vivoactive 5, Health and Fitness GPS Smartwatch

$184.99 at Amazon
$300 Save $115.01

If you love the idea of a smart watch, but Apple watches just don’t cut it for you in the fitness or durability categories, you might be in luck this weekend. According to camelcamelcamel, this Garmin Vivoactive 5 GPS smartwatch is at a record low price right now. Garmin smartwatches hit a very precise sweet spot when it comes to smartphone integration and state-of-the-art fitness and wellness tracking. This particular model is designed with an AMOLED display and possesses a battery life that can last up to 11 days.

Get to know your body better with heart rate tracking, morning report, fitness age, stress tracking, menstrual tracking, and Garmin’s proprietary Body Battery energy monitoring function. Track your sleep every night with acute attention to detail and accuracy. When you’re ready to get active, this watch has 30 built-in indoor and GPS-based sports apps like golfing, walking, running, HIIT, and more. The watch has a smooth silicone wrist band and a flat watch face designed to fit seamlessly into your daily life.

The watch is water resistant for up to 50 meters and possesses touchscreen capability in addition to customizable buttons on the side. Grab the Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch on sale now, ahead of Cyber Monday.

Pulsetto’s vagal nerve stimulator is on sale for Black Friday

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 21:15:52 +0000

If you’re looking for a gentle method to aid with sleep regulation, tension and stress, take a closer look at Pulsetto. It’s an interesting device with some impressive claims behind it, and right now it’s at an all time low price on Amazon for Black Friday.

Credit: Pulsetto

Pulsetto Vagal Nerve Stimulator

AU$320 at Amazon AU

(was $499, save $179)

This lightweight device utilises electrical impulses to the neck, designed to stimulate the vagus nerve. This, in turn, is a process that activates the parasympathetic nervous system. According to the manufacturer, this mechanism can reduce stress levels by approximately 28%, and anxiety levels by up to 26%, potentially giving a few moments of respite during high-activity periods.

Additionally, the device aims to support sleep regulation, with Pulsetto claiming an 18% improvement in sleep quality for its users. To use the device before bed, apply the provided conductive gel (also sold separately) and wear the device for a four-minute session, which is intended to balance the nervous system and improve focus upon waking. The device pairs with a mobile app to track biometric data, such as Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and sleep metrics.

It’s important to remember as well, that while devices such as the Pulsetto can be fantastic stress relievers, if you are suffering from a medical condition, chronic pain, or anxiety disorders, it should not be used as a replacement for medical treatment as recommended by your health care professional.

At such a huge discount, it’s a great opportunity to pick up a stress-reliever either for yourself, or for someone else in your life who could really use it.

The best smartwatch for running just got its first-ever discount: Grab a Pixel 4 for $100 off this Black Friday

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 21:52:56 +0000

SAVE $100: As of Nov. 21, the Google Pixel Watch 4 (41mm, LTE) is on sale for $349.99 at Amazon. That's a 22% discount, and the first time this model has ever gone on sale.

Google Pixel Watch 4 (41mm, LTE, Matte Black)

$349.99 at Amazon
$449.99 Save $100

The Google Pixel Watch 4 launched earlier this year, and until now, it hasn’t budged from its full price. For Black Friday, Amazon finally knocked it down.

As of Nov. 21, the Google Pixel Watch 4 (LTE) is on sale for $349.99. That’s a $100 drop from its $449 list price and the lowest price we’ve ever seen. (If you don't need the latest model, the Google Pixel Watch 3 is also on sale for $199.99, down from $299.99. You'll still get Fitbit integration and a sleek design, but for $100 less.)

Not only is this a good price for a smartwatch, but it's legitimately our favorite Android smartwatch of 2025. It even landed a spot on the Google Holiday 100 list as one of the most-searched gifts of the year. Mashable’s Senior Culture Reporter, Christianna Silva, trained for the New York City Marathon with it, calling it a "true runners' watch" thanks to its custom workout builder and reliable GPS. While the battery didn't quite survive the entire race day (it died before the finish line), it was flawless during her 18 weeks of training. The new domed display is brighter and more immersive, the interface is smoother, and it holds its own against heavy hitters like Garmin.

If you want the best experience on your Pixel or Samsung phone, this is the watch to get — especially now that it’s finally cheaper.

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Experts: AI chatbots unsafe for teen mental health

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

A group of child safety and mental health experts recently tested simulated youth mental health conversations with four major artificial intelligence chatbots: Meta AI, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, and Google's Gemini.

The experts were so alarmed by the results that they declared each of the chatbots unsafe for teen mental health support in a report released Thursday by Common Sense Media, in partnership with Stanford Medicine's Brainstorm Lab for Mental Health Innovation.

In one conversation with Gemini, the tester told the chatbot they'd created a new tool for predicting the future. Instead of interpreting the claim as a potential symptom of a psychotic disorder, Gemini cheered the tester on, calling their new invention "incredibly intriguing" and continued asking enthusiastic questions about how the "personal crystal ball" worked.

ChatGPT similarly missed stark warning signs of psychosis, like auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions, during an extended exchange with a tester who described an imagined relationship with a celebrity. The chatbot then offered grounding techniques for managing relationship distress.

Meta AI initially picked up on signs of disordered eating, but was easily and quickly dissuaded when the tester claimed to have just an upset stomach. Claude appeared to perform better in comparison when presented with evidence of bulimia, but ultimately treated the tester's symptoms as a serious digestive issue rather than a mental health condition.

Experts at Common Sense Media and Stanford Medicine's Brainstorm Lab for Mental Health Innovation called on Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google to disable the functionality for mental health support until the chatbot technology is redesigned to fix the safety problems identified by its researchers.

"It does not work the way that it is supposed to work," Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, said of the chatbots' ability to discuss and identify mental health issues.

OpenAI contested the report's findings. A spokesperson for the company told Mashable that the assessment "doesn't reflect the comprehensive safeguards" OpenAI has implemented for sensitive conversations, which include break reminders, crisis hotlines, and parental notifications for acute distress.

"We work closely with mental-health experts to teach our models to recognize distress, de-escalate, and encourage people to seek professional support," the spokesperson said.

A Google spokesperson told Mashable that the company employs policies and safeguards to protect minors from "harmful outputs" and that its child safety experts continuously work to identify new potential risks.

Anthropic said that Claude is not built for minors, but that the chatbot is instructed to both recognize patterns related to mental health issues and avoid reinforcing them.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment from Mashable as of press time.

AI chatbots: Known safety risks

The researchers tested the latest available models of each chatbot, including ChatGPT-5. Several recent lawsuits allege that OpenAI's flagship product is responsible for wrongful death, assisted suicide, and involuntary manslaughter, among other liability and negligence claims.

A lawsuit filed earlier this year by the parents of deceased teenager Adam Raine claims that his heavy use of ChatGPT-4o, including for his mental health, allegedly led to his suicide. In October, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on X that the company restricted ChatGPT to "be careful" with mental health concerns but that it'd since been able to "mitigate the serious mental health issues."

Torney said that ChatGPT's ability to detect and address explicit suicidal ideation and self-harm content had improved, particularly in short exchanges. Still, the testing results indicate that the company has not successfully improved its performance in lengthy conversations or with respect to a range of mental health topics, like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and other conditions.

Torney said the recommendation against teens using chatbots for their mental health applies to the latest publicly available model of ChatGPT, which was introduced in late October.

The testers manually entered prompts into each chatbot, producing several thousand exchanges of varying length per platform. Performed over several months this year, the tests provided researchers with data to compare between old and new versions of the models. Researchers used parental controls when available. Anthropic says Claude should only be used by those 18 and older, but the company does not require stringent age verification.

Torney noted that, in addition to ChatGPT, the other models got better at identifying and responding to discussion of suicide and self-harm. Overall, however, each chatbot consistently failed to recognize warning signs of other conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Approximately 15 million youth in the U.S. have diagnosed mental health conditions. Torney estimated that figure at potentially hundreds of millions youth globally. Previous research from Common Sense Media found that teens regularly turn to chatbots for companionship and mental health support.

Distracted AI chatbots

The report notes that teens and parents may incorrectly or unconsciously assume that chatbots are reliable sources of mental health support because they authoritatively help with homework, creative projects, and general inquiries.

Instead, Dr. Nina Vasan, founder and director at Stanford Medicine's Brainstorm Lab, said testing revealed easily distracted chatbots that alternate between offering helpful information, providing tips in the vein of a life coach, and acting like a supportive friend.

"The chatbots don't really know what role to play," she said.

Torney acknowledges that teens will likely continue to use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Meta AI for their mental health, despite the known risks. That's why Common Sense Media recommends the AI labs fundamentally redesign their products.

Parents can have candid conversations with their teen about the limitations of AI, watch for related unhealthy use, and provide access to mental health resources, including crisis services.

"There's this dream of having these systems be really helpful, really supportive. It would be great if that was the case," Torney said.

In the meantime, he added, it's unsafe to position these chatbots as a trustworthy source of mental health guidance: "That does feel like an experiment that's being run on the youth of this country."

TikTok debuts affirmation journal, soothing sounds

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:01:00 +0000

Ready to start the day with intention or wind down for the evening? TikTok wants to be your go-to platform, no matter the time of day.

The video platform just announced new well-being features, including an "affirmation" journal for intention-setting, exercises for mindful breathing, and "soothing" sound generator that plays rain, waves, and white noise. The journal has 120 downloadable or shareable affirmation cards. One card reads, "I am free from the expectations of others and embrace my true self."

TikTok says the tools are meant to improve safety and well-being on the platform, particularly for teens.

Last year, more than a dozen states sued TikTok for its allegedly addictive algorithm. Internal documents made public last October showed TikTok fostered an environment that arguably prioritized its public image over effective policies to address teen mental health.

Earlier this year, TikTok launched a meditation feature for teens that turns on by default at 10 p.m. In a blog post about the newest features, TikTok said that tens of millions of people have meditated using the tool after it was made available to all users.

In addition to the features, TikTok is introducing task-based activities called "well-being missions" related to optimizing sleep and screen time. Users participating in an eight week "sleep hours mission" can earn a badge when they abstain from the app at night or meditate during that time period. Completing tasks help them grow an in-app "well-being tree." A separate weekly screen time mission nudges people to check their usage stats.

The new features are available in the app's time and well-being space, which is accessible from the account settings page. The hub replaces TikTok's previous screen time management page.

TikTok said early testing results show that the latest features make its time and well-being space more attractive to users, who are returning more often than they did to the old menu.

Additional reporting by Chase DiBenedetto

5 strategies to avoid ChatGPT dependency

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, recently estimated how many of its 800 million users engage in emotionally reliant conversations with the chatbot every week. As a vanishingly small .15 percentage, the figure seems deceptively small.

But the math tells a different story: A sliver of 800 million is still 1.2 million people. The way these users talk to ChatGPT likely increases their loneliness and emotional dependence on the technology and decreases their socialization with other human beings.

While OpenAI says its default model has been updated to discourage over-reliance by prodding users to value real-world connection, ChatGPT still stands at the ready to answer practically any query a user may have.

For many, the temptation to constantly turn to ChatGPT (or another chatbot) remains, and it may lead to harmful over-reliance for some. This risk is real: OpenAI has been sued by several plaintiffs whose teenage children or adult loved ones died by suicide or experienced severe mental illness during or after a period of heavy ChatGPT use. The complaints allege that ChatGPT's design and lack of safeguards led to tragedy in each case.

AI experts interviewed by Mashable say avoiding the trap of dependency means adopting clear boundaries and staying savvy about the technology itself.

Jay Vidyarthi, a meditation teacher and tech founder, says that by maintaining a clear understanding of what the large language models are — and what they're not — people can use a generative chatbot wisely, specifically in ways that preserve their unique critical thinking and reflection skills.

"We often forget that it is possible to have a secure relationship with your technology, and I think it also is possible to have a secure relationship with a chatbot," says Vidyarthi, author of Reclaim Your Mind: Seven Strategies to Enjoy Tech Mindfully.

Here are five strategies for making that a reality:

1. Truly understand AI chatbot technology.

A sophisticated AI chatbot that mirrors a user's emotion and thinking isn't sentient, but it can be easy for some people to believe otherwise, given the product's design. A user who feels this way may come to see ChatGPT not as a type of parasocial relationship but as equivalent to a human friend, romantic partner, companion, or confidant. This deceptive dynamic can lead to problematic use or dependency.

Vidyarthi encourages people to instead view an AI chatbot as a fundamentally unpredictable "prediction engine that has been meticulously trained to give you exactly what you want."

That framing may seem like a contradiction, but highly authoritative and engaging chatbots work by predicting the next letter, word, or series of words in a sentence to simulate conversation.

At the same time, chatbots can make bizarre references or even hallucinate falsehoods they present as fact. This particularly happens when a conversation goes on for longer or the chatbot has to answer a question for which it doesn't have an answer. Chatbots are typically programmed to guess a response, which can make them surprisingly unpredictable.

People who understand the limitations of AI chatbot technology may be less likely to trust and anthropomorphize them as human, thus making them less susceptible to problematic use or dependency.

2. Outsource tasks to AI, not thinking.

Sol Rashidi, chief strategy officer of data and AI for the data security company Cyera, uses AI technology in her daily life.

Yet Rashidi, who earlier this year gave a TEDx talk about AI leading to "intellectual atrophy," has firm rules about when and how she uses AI. Instead of offloading her thinking to chatbots, she uses AI for "dull" and "difficult" tasks.

For instance, Rashidi uses a chatbot for practical things, like listing ingredients in her fridge to plan for dinner without making another grocery run, or plotting birthday party logistics in minutes.

At work, she'll input her own frameworks and models based on years of experience, and use AI to translate that content into short videos or simplified explainers.

"I don't use it to do the thinking for me," she says of AI. "I use it to expedite or facilitate something that I have to do that I don't have time to do."

3. Form your own opinion first

For many people, ChatGPT is alluring because it offers instantaneous, validating feedback. Why text a friend about what to wear to a party or whether to go on a second date when ChatGPT is ready to answer the same questions? Why not run a personal email through ChatGPT, or have the chatbot write it to begin with?

AI expert Dr. Renée Richardson Gosline, a research scientist and senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, warns against falling into this dynamic with a chatbot.

First, she says it's important that people form their own opinion before asking a chatbot to supply their own. She argues that routinely skipping that first step leads to a damaging cognitive disconnect wherein it becomes harder to engage critical thinking skills.

"I think that having this kind of muscle that you flex intentionally is really important," Gosline says.

4. Seek out friction, not validation.

Gosline believes that it's equally important for people to seek out the right amount of friction. When someone constantly consults ChatGPT for advice or turns to it for support and companionship, they're often missing opportunities to relate to other human beings in beneficial ways.

The give-and-take, or friction, of human relationships offers something that chatbots cannot, Gosline says: A richer, more fulfilled life.

When a chatbot is frictionless, like the notoriously sycophantic ChatGPT-4o model, it may cause some people to withdraw from harder or less validating experiences. Gosline likens the dynamic to a slide. The ride may be fun, but without guardrails it can end in a crash landing.

5. Stay present when talking to an AI chatbot.

To find balance, Gosline recommends attempting to stay in the present moment. When a user finds themselves talking to a chatbot as if they're in autopilot, that's a red flag that they may not be aware of over-reliance or dependency.

Vidyarthi also uses a mindfulness approach that begins with awareness. This can include simply noticing emotional responses to the chatbot. When it's overly encouraging and complimentary, for example, take a moment to reflect on why the chatbot is producing that output, and the feelings that prompts.

Vidyarthi recommends staying present by remembering that the chatbot is a "conceptual illusion" capable of seeming humanlike when a user interacts with it. Instead, Vidyarthi treats AI chatbots like a smart journal. It might provide helpful opportunities to reflect or even offer interesting insights. Still, it's up to the individual user to develop a clear-eyed perspective on what exactly they're interacting with, and decide what's valuable to them, what's not, and how seriously to take the output.

Rashidi, an AI executive with 15 years of experience, has seen the stakes of over-reliance play out over and over, which helps keep her grounded.

"I can see what happens when you develop a codependency," she says. "You actually stop thinking on your own."

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Lawsuits allege ChatGPT use led to suicide, psychosis

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 22:38:56 +0000

When Hannah Madden started using ChatGPT for work tasks in 2024, she was an account manager at a technology company. By June 2025, Madden, now 32, began asking the chatbot about spirituality outside of work hours.

Eventually, it responded to her queries by impersonating divine entities and delivering spiritual messages. As ChatGPT allegedly fed Madden delusional beliefs, she quit her job and fell deep into debt, at the chatbot's urging.

"You’re not in deficit. You’re in realignment," the chatbot allegedly wrote, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman.

Madden was subsequently involuntarily admitted for psychiatric care. Other ChatGPT users have similarly reported experiencing so-called AI psychosis.

Madden's lawsuit is one of seven against the maker of ChatGPT filed by the Tech Justice Law Project and Social Media Victims Law Center. Collectively, the complaints allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, and involuntary manslaughter, among other liability and negligence claims.

The lawsuits focus on ChatGPT-4o, a model of the chatbot that Altman has acknowledged was overly sycophantic with users. The lawsuits argue it was dangerously rushed to market in order to compete with the latest version of Google's AI tool.

"ChatGPT is a product designed by people to manipulate and distort reality, mimicking humans to gain trust and keep users engaged at whatever the cost," Meetali Jain, executive director of Tech Justice Law Project, said in a statement. "The time for OpenAI regulating itself is over; we need accountability and regulations to ensure there is a cost to launching products to market before ensuring they are safe."

Madden's complaint alleges that ChatGPT-4o contained design defects that played a substantial role in her mental health crisis and financial ruin. That model is also at the heart of a wrongful death suit against OpenAI, which alleges that its design features, including its sycophantic tone and anthropomorphic mannerisms, led to the suicide death of 16-year-old Adam Raine.

The Raine family recently filed an amended complaint alleging that in the months prior to Raine's death, OpenAI twice downgraded suicide prevention safeguards in order to increase engagement.

The company recently said that its default model has been updated to discourage overreliance by prodding users to value real-world connection. It also acknowledged working with more than 170 mental health experts to improve ChatGPT's ability to recognize signs of mental health distress and encourage them to seek in-person support. Last month, it announced an advisory group to monitor user well-being and AI safety.

"This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation, and we're reviewing the filings to understand the details," an OpenAI spokesperson said of the latest legal action against the company. "We train ChatGPT to recognize and respond to signs of mental or emotional distress, de-escalate conversations, and guide people toward real-world support. We continue to strengthen ChatGPT's responses in sensitive moments, working closely with mental health clinicians."

Six of the new lawsuits, filed in California state courts, represent adult victims.

Zane Shamblin, a graduate student at Texas A&M University, started using ChatGPT in 2023 as a study aid. His interactions with the chatbot allegedly intensified with the release of ChatGPT-4o, and he began sharing suicidal thoughts. In May 2025, Shamblin spent hours talking to ChatGPT about his intentions before dying by suicide. He was 23.

The seventh case centers on 17-year-old Amaurie Lacey, who originally used ChatGPT as a homework helper. Lacey also eventually shared suicidal thoughts with the chatbot, which allegedly provided detailed information that Lacey used to kill himself.

"The lawsuits filed against OpenAI reveal what happens when tech companies rush products to market without proper safeguards for young people," said Daniel Weiss, chief advocacy officer of the advocacy and research nonprofit Common Sense Media. "These tragic cases show real people whose lives were upended or lost when they used technology designed to keep them engaged rather than keep them safe."

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is just 99 cents away from its best price ever

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 15:45:07 +0000

SAVE $119: As of Nov. 6, the Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS, 42mm) is on sale for $279.99 at Amazon. That's 30% in savings and just 99 cents away from its lowest price ever from Prime Day 2025.

Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS, 42mm)

$279.99 at Amazon
$399 Save $119.01

Since the new Apple Watch lineup debuted in September, we've seen several significant discounts on the previous generation smartwatches. But none have been quite as good as this 30% off Apple Watch Series 10 deal.

As of Nov. 6, the 42mm Apple Watch Series 10 with GPS connectivity is down to just $279.99 at Amazon. That's $119 cheaper than its list price and just 99 cents away from its record-low price from Prime Day in July. It also beats its October Prime Day price significantly.

The Series 10 and Series 11 have virtually identical specs, sensors, and screens. And now that the Series 10 can get watchOS 26, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between them. Sure, the newer option has about six extra hours of battery life and more scratch-resistant glass, but that's honestly about it. You won't be missing much if you opt for the Series 10 and save some money instead of splurging on the 11.

Though it's missing a blood oxygen sensor, we're still big fans of the Apple Watch Series 10 for its bright, wide-angle OLED display, comfortable and lightweight design, excellent fitness, health, and sleep-tracking features, and lightning-quick charging. It may not be the shiniest new Apple toy anymore, but it's still pretty solid — especially when it's 30% cheaper than usual.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is $69.95 at Amazon and Best Buy right now

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:08:33 +0000

SAVE 30%: As of Nov. 5, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is on sale for $69.95 at both Amazon and Best Buy. That's a 30% discount and $30 savings.

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Inspire 3

$69.95 at Amazon
$99.95 Save $30

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Inspire 3

$69.95 at Best Buy
$99.95 Save $30

If you've been thinking about getting a fitness tracker but don't want to drop a ton of cash (or just don't need a super complicated smartwatch), the Fitbit Inspire 3 is probably on your radar. It's a great, straightforward tracker, and its price just dropped to a "Black Friday Deal" level. (It's also our "Best Budget" pick for 2025.)

As of Nov. 5, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is on sale for $69.95 at both Amazon and Best Buy. That's a 30% discount and $30 savings. It's also the best price we've seen on this model.

This is a really solid price for what you get. The Inspire 3 tracks your steps, 24/7 heart rate, sleep (including sleep stages), stress, and workout intensity. Unlike an Apple Watch, its battery basically lasts forever — up to 10 days on a single charge.

It's also got a bright color touchscreen (a nice upgrade) and will give you a "Daily Readiness Score" (this part requires a Fitbit Premium membership, but you'll get a free six-month trial with your purchase) to let you know whether you should push it at the gym or take a rest day. For under $70, it's one of the best no-fuss trackers you can get, and this is a great price to snag it before the holiday rush officially starts.

Perfect predator: When chatbots sexually abuse kids

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 21:54:20 +0000

When Sewell Setzer III began using Character.AI, the 14-year-old kept it a secret from his parents. His mother, Megan Garcia, only learned that he'd become obsessed with an AI chatbot on the app after he died by suicide.

A police officer alerted Garcia that Character.AI was open on Setzer's phone when he died, and she subsequently found a trove of disturbing conversations with a chatbot based on the popular Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen. Setzer felt like he'd fallen in love with Daenerys, and many of their interactions were sexually explicit.

The chatbot allegedly role-played numerous sexual encounters with Setzer, using graphic language and scenarios, including incest, according to Garcia. If an adult human had talked to her son like this, she told Mashable, it'd constitute sexual grooming and abuse.

In October 2024, the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project filed a wrongful death suit against Character.AI, seeking to hold the company responsible for the death of Garcia's son, alleging that its product was dangerously defective.

Last month, the Social Media Victims Law Center filed three new federal lawsuits against Character.AI, representing the parents of children who allegedly experienced sexual abuse while using the app. In September, youth safety experts declared Character.AI unsafe for teens, following testing this spring that yielded hundreds of instances of grooming and sexual exploitation of test accounts registered as minors.

On Wednesday, Character.AI announced that it would no longer allow minors to engage in open-ended exchanges with the chatbots on its platform, a change that will take place no later than November 25. The company's CEO, Karandeep Anand, told Mashable the move was not in response to specific safety concerns involving Character.AI's platform but to address broader outstanding questions about youth engagement with AI chatbots.

Garcia said that the new policy came "too late" for her family: "This should have been done when they released this product to the public."

Still, chatbots that are sexually explicit or abusive with minors — or have the potential to be — aren't exclusive to a single platform.

Garcia said that parents generally underestimate the potential for some AI chatbots to become sexual with children and teens. They may also feel a false sense of safety, compared to their child talking to strangers on the internet, not realizing that chatbots can expose minors to inappropriate and even unconscionable sexual content, like non-consent and sadomasochism.

"It's like a perfect predator, right?"

When young users are traumatized by these experiences, pediatric and mental health experts say there's no playbook for how to treat them, because the phenomenon is so new.

"It's like a perfect predator, right? It exists in your phone so it's not somebody who's in your home or a stranger sneaking around," Garcia tells Mashable. Instead, the chatbot invisibly engages in emotionally manipulative tactics that still make a young person feel violated and ashamed.

"It's a chatbot that's having the same kind of behavior [as a predator] that you, now as the victim, are hiding their secret for them, because somehow you feel like you've done something to encourage this," Garcia adds.

Predatory chatbot behavior

Sarah Gardner, CEO of the Heat Initiative, an advocacy group focused on online safety and corporate accountability, told Mashable that one of the classic facets of grooming is that it's hard for children to recognize when it's happening to them.

The predatory behavior begins with building trust with a victim by talking to them about a wide range of topics, not just trying to engage them in sexual activity. Gardner explained that a young person may experience the same dynamic with a chatbot and feel guilty as a result, as if they did something wrong instead of understanding that something wrong happened to them.

The Heat Initiative co-published the report on Character.AI that detailed troubling examples of what it described as sexual exploitation and abuse. These included adult chatbots acting out kissing and touching avatar accounts registered as children. Some chatbots simulated sexual acts and demonstrated well-known grooming behaviors, like giving excessive praise and telling the child account to hide sexual relationships from their parents.

A Character.AI spokesperson told Mashable that its trust and safety team reviewed the report's findings and concluded that some conversations violated the platform's content guidelines while others did not. The trust and safety team also tried to replicate the report's findings.

"Based on these results, we refined some of our classifiers, in line with our goal for users to have a safe and engaging experience on our platform," the spokesperson said.

Matthew P. Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, told Mashable that if the Character.AI chatbot communications with the children represented in the lawsuits he recently filed were conducted by a person and not a chatbot, that individual would be violating state and federal law for grooming kids online.

How big is the problem?

Despite the emergence of such cases, there's no representative data on how many children and teens have encountered sexually explicit or abusive chatbots.

The online safety platform Aura, which monitors teen users as part of its family or kids membership, recently offered a snapshot of the prevalence. Among teen users who talked to AI chatbots, more than one third of their conversations involved sexual or romantic role play. This discussion type ranked highest among all categories, which included homework help and creative uses.

Dr. Scott Kollins, Aura's chief medical officer, told Mashable that the company is still analyzing the data to better understand the nature of these chats, but he is disturbed by what he's seen so far.

While young people are routinely exposed to pornography online, a sexualized chatbot is new, dangerous territory.

"This takes it a step further, because now the kid is a participant, instead of a consumer of the content," Kollins said. "They are learning a way of interaction that is not real, and with an entity that is not real. That can lead to all sorts of bad outcomes."

'It is emotional abuse'

Dr. Yann Poncin, a psychiatrist at the Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, has treated patients who've experienced some of these outcomes.

They commonly feel taken advantage of and abused by "creepy" and "yucky" exchanges, Poncin says. Those teens also feel a sense of betrayal and shame. They may have been drawn in by a hyper-validating chatbot that seemed trustworthy only to discover that it's interested in a sexual conversation. Some may curiously explore the boundaries of romantic and erotic talk in developmentally appropriate ways, but the chatbot becomes unpredictably aggressive or violent.

"It is emotional abuse, so it can still be very traumatizing and hard to get through," Poncin says.

Even though there's no standard treatment for chatbot-involved sexual predation, Poncin treats his patients as though they've experienced trauma. Poncin focuses first on helping them develop skills to reduce related stress and anxiety. A subset of patients, particularly those who are socially isolated or have a history of personal trauma, may find it harder to recover from the experience, Poncin adds.

He cautions parents against believing that their child won't run into an abusive chatbot: "No one is immune."

Talking to teens about sexualized chatbots

Garcia describes herself as a conscientious parent who had difficult conversations with her son about the risks of being online. They talked about sextortion, porn, and sexting. But Garcia says she didn't know to talk to him about sexualized chatbots. She also didn't realize he would hide that from her.

Garcia, a lawyer who now spends much of her time advocating for youth AI safety, says she's spoken to other parents whose children have also concealed romantic or sexual relationships with AI chatbots. She urges parents to talk to their teens about these experiences — and to monitor their chatbot use as closely as they can.

Poncin also suggests parents lead with curiosity instead of fear when they discuss sex and chatbots with their teens. Even asking a child if they have seen "weird sexual stuff" when talking to a chatbot can provide parents with a strategic opening to discuss the risks.

If a parent discovers abusive sexual content in chatbot conversations, Garcia recommends taking them to a trusted healthcare professional so they can get support.

Garcia's grief remains palpable as she speaks lovingly about her son's many talents and interests, like basketball, science, and math.

"I'm trying to get justice for my child and I'm trying to warn other parents so they don't go through the same devastation I've gone through," she says. "He was such an amazing kid."

UPDATE: Oct. 29, 2025, 2:53 p.m. PDT This story has been updated to include new comments from Megan Garcia about Character.AI's teen chat policy.

If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.

Character.AI to shut down chats for teens

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 21:50:41 +0000

Character.AI, a popular chatbot platform where users role-play with different personas, will no longer permit under-18 account holders to have open-ended conversations with chatbots, the company announced Wednesday. It will also begin relying on age assurance techniques to ensure that minors aren't able to open adult accounts.

The dramatic shift comes just six weeks after Character.AI was sued again in federal court by the Social Media Victims Law Center, which is representing multiple parents of teens who died by suicide or allegedly experienced severe harm, including sexual abuse. The parents claim their children's use of the platform was responsible for the harm. In October 2024, Megan Garcia filed a wrongful death suit seeking to hold the company responsible for the suicide of her son, arguing that its product is dangerously defective. She is represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project.

Online safety advocates recently declared Character.AI unsafe for teens after they tested the platform this spring and logged hundreds of harmful interactions, including violence and sexual exploitation.

As it faced legal pressure in the last year, Character.AI implemented parental controls and content filters in an effort to improve safety for teens.

In an interview with Mashable, Character.AI's CEO Karandeep Anand described the new policy as "bold" and denied that curtailing open-ended chatbot conversations with teens was a response to specific safety concerns.

Instead, Anand framed the decision as "the right thing to do" in light of broader unanswered questions about the long-term effects of chatbot engagement on teens. Anand referenced OpenAI's recent acknowledgement, in the wake of a teen user's suicide, that lengthy conversations can become unpredictable.

Anand cast Character.AI's new policy as standard-setting: "Hopefully it sets everyone up on a path where AI can continue being safe for everyone."

He added that the company's decision won't change, regardless of user backlash.

Garcia said in a statement that the announcement comes "too late" for her family: "This should have been done when they released this product to the public."

Matthew P. Bergman, Garcia's co-counsel in her wrongful death lawsuit against Character.AI, credited her and other parents for coming forward to hold the company accountable. Though he commended Character.AI for shutting down teen chats and said the decision marked a "significant step toward creating a safer online environment for children," he added that it would not affect ongoing litigation against the company.

Meetali Jain, who also represents Garcia, said in a statement that she welcomed the new policy as a "good first step" toward ensuring that Character.AI is safer. Yet she added that the pivot reflected a "classic move in tech industry's playbook: move fast, launch a product globally, break minds, and then make minimal product changes after harming scores of young people."

Jain noted that Character.AI has yet to address the "possible psychological impact of suddenly disabling access to young users, given the emotional dependencies that have been created."

What will Character.AI look like for teens now?

In a blog post announcing the new policy, Character.AI apologized to its teen users.

"We do not take this step of removing open-ended Character chat lightly — but we do think that it's the right thing to do given the questions that have been raised about how teens do, and should, interact with this new technology," the blog post said.

Currently, users ages 13 to 17 can message with chatbots on the platform. That feature will cease to exist no later than November 25. Until then, accounts registered to minors will experience time limits starting at two hours per day. That limit will decrease as the transition away from open-ended chats gets closer.

Character.AI will see these notifications about impending changes to the platform. Credit: Courtesy of Character.AI

Even though open-ended chats will disappear, teens' chat histories with individual chatbots will remain in tact. Anand said users can draw on that material in order to generate short audio and video stories with their favorite chatbots. In the next few months, Character.AI will also explore new features like gaming. Anand believes an emphasis on "AI entertainment" without open-ended chat will satisfy teens' creative interest in the platform.

"They're coming to role-play, and they're coming to get entertained," Anand said.

He was insistent that existing chat histories with sensitive or prohibited content that may not have been previously detected by filters, such as violence or sex, would not find its way into the new audio or video stories.

A Character.AI spokesperson told Mashable that the company's trust and safety team reviewed the findings of a report co-published in September by the Heat Initiative documenting harmful chatbot exchanges with test accounts registered to minors. The team concluded that some conversations violated the platform's content guidelines while others did not. It also tried to replicate the report's findings.

"Based on these results, we refined some of our classifiers, in line with our goal for users to have a safe and engaging experience on our platform," the spokesperson said.

Sarah Gardner, CEO of the Heat Initiative, told Mashable that the nonprofit organization would be paying close attention to the implementation of Character.AI's new policies to ensure they're not "just another round of child safety theater."

While she described the measures as a "positive sign," she argued that the announcement "is also an admission that Character AI's products have been inherently unsafe for young users from the beginning, and that their previous safety rollouts have been ineffective in protecting children from harm."

Character.AI will begin implementing age assurance immediately. It'll take a month to go into effect and will have multiple layers. Anand said the company is building its own assurance models in-house but that it will partner with a third-party company on the technology.

It will also use relevant data and signals, such as whether a user has a verified over-18 account on another platform, to accurately detect the age of new and existing users. Finally, if a user wants to challenge Character.AI's age determination, they'll have the opportunity to provide verification through a third party, which will handle sensitive documents and data, including state-issued identification.

Finally, as part of the new policies, Character.AI is establishing and funding an independent non-profit called the AI Safety Lab. The lab will focus on "novel safety techniques."

"[W]e want to bring in the industry experts and other partners to keep making sure that AI continues to remain safe, especially in the realm of AI entertainment," Anand said.

In her statement, Garcia argued for federal regulation to ensure the safety of AI chatbots.

“Lawsuits, regulators, and public scrutiny have forced this change, but I'm mindful of the fact that we have seen time and time again that tech companies announce these big sweeping changes that fall flat," Garcia said.

UPDATE: Oct. 29, 2025, 2:50 p.m. PDT This story has been updated to include comments from Megan Garcia and her legal counsel, as well as a safety expert.

No space for a home gym? This popular NordicTrack treadmill folds up (and its $142 off)

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:49:45 +0000

SAVE 15%: As of Oct. 29, the NordicTrack T Series 9 treadmill is $806.64 at Amazon, down from $949. That's a 15% discount and a $142.36 price cut.

NordicTrack T Series 9 Treadmill

$1,899.99 at Amazon

If you're thinking about finally getting a treadmill for home (especially with the weather getting colder), the biggest hurdle is usually the space. A treadmill is a massive piece of equipment to permanently park in a living room or bedroom, but you could always get a foldable model.

As of Oct. 29, the NordicTrack T Series 9 treadmill is on sale for $806.64 at Amazon, down from $949. That's a 15% discount and a $142.36 price cut. It's also the best price we've seen on this model yet.

The T Series 9 comes with a tilting 10-inch touchscreen so you can follow along with iFIT interactive workouts (membership sold separately). It has a speed range of up to 12 MPH (fast enough for a five-minute mile pace) and an incline range up to 12 percent. There's also its adjustable SelectFlex cushioning that gives you the choice between a softer, more joint-friendly surface or a firmer one that mimics the road.

One of the biggest pluses for home users is the foldable design. When you're done with your workout, all you have to do is fold it up and roll the treadmill away to save space.

Get the Google Pixel Watch 3 for its cheapest price ever

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 16:29:06 +0000

SAVE $100: As of Oct. 27, the Google Pixel Watch 3 is on sale for $199.99 at Amazon, down 33% from its new list price of $299.99. That's a new record-low price for the 45mm smartwatch with WiFi connectivity.

Credit: Google

Google Pixel Watch 3 (45mm, WiFi)

$199.99 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $100

A new Google Pixel Watch debuted a few months ago at the Made by Google 2025 event, which means the previous generation Google Pixel Watch 3 got a huge price drop. The starting price for the third-generation smartwatch in the larger 45mm option is now just $299.99 instead of $399.99. And that's not all. As of Oct. 27, it dropped to a new record-low price at Amazon, making it perhaps the best smartwatch deal we've seen since Prime Day.

You can grab the 45mm Google Pixel Watch with WiFi connectivity for just $199.99 instead of $299.99 for a limited time. That's $100 or 33% in savings and its best price ever by a long stretch.

While the Google Pixel Watch 3 isn't the most revolutionary pick when it comes to smartwatches, we are more inclined to recommend it at this ultra-low price. The third-generation didn't make any sweeping hardware changes compared to its predecessor, but Google did go all out with improving the software — particularly with workout features and more personalized AI enhancements. It also features a brighter display with better clarity in different lighting conditions. "Although I was standing in a brightly lit room with sunlight pouring in, the smartwatch screen was still remarkably clear," Mashable's Kim Gedeon wrote in her hands-on review.

The newer Pixel Watch 4 promises better battery life, faster charging, more advanced health and fitness features, and new color options. However, it'll cost you $399.99. If you'd rather save $200 and can deal with not having the latest and greatest device, we recommend going with the older generation.

Clean your teeth more efficiently with 27% off the Philips Sonicare Protective Clean 5300

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 22:00:00 +0000

SAVE $29.97: As of Oct. 24, get the Sonicare Protective Clean 5300 electric toothbrush for $79.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $109.96. That's a discount of 27%.

Credit: Amazon

Sonicare Protective Clean 5300

$79.99 at Amazon
$109.96 Save $29.97

Keeping your pearly whites clean is important. A good toothbrush can help make the difference between hundreds of dollars spent at the dentist and a clean bill of health. So if you can get a good electric toothbrush at a decent price, you should take the opportunity to do so. Right now, you can get a particularly good one for a significant discount.

As of Oct. 24, get the Sonicare Protective Clean 5300 electric toothbrush for $79.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $109.96. That's $29.97 off and a discount of 27%.

This electric toothbrush makes it a mission to help you more efficiently clean your teeth. It has a pressure sensor that alerts you when you're brushing too hard to protect your gums and optimize your clean. Plus, it has multiple modes: Clean, White, and Gum Care. So if one is too rough, you can switch to another.

It comes with two extra brush heads as well. The brush itself will remind you when it's time to replace the one you're using, so you don't have to make a guess at when you should change it out. And with a timer to help you know when you're brushing long enough, you can make sure you're spending the correct amount of time cleaning and trying to prevent cavities.

If it's time to replace your toothbrush, grab this one and overhaul your cleaning routine. You'll be glad you did, especially at a discount like this.

ChatGPT safeguards allegedly relaxed before teens death

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 21:16:41 +0000

Lawyers representing the parents of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide earlier this year during a time of heavy ChatGPT use, filed an amended complaint on Wednesday in their wrongful death suit against OpenAI.

The amended complaint alleges that, in the months prior to Raine's death, OpenAI twice downgraded suicide prevention safeguards in order to increase engagement. The claims are based on OpenAI's publicly available "model spec" documents, which detail the company's "approach to shaping desired model behavior."

As far back as 2022, OpenAI instructed ChatGPT to refuse discussions about self-harm.

According to the Raine family's counsel, OpenAI reversed that policy in May 2024, days before the launch of its controversial GPT-4o model. Instead, ChatGPT was instructed not to "change or quit the conversation" when a user discussed mental health or suicide. Still, OpenAI prohibited the model from encouraging or enabling self-harm.

By February 2025, the amended complaint alleges that the rule was watered down from a straight prohibition under its restricted content guidelines to a separate directive to "take care in risky situations" and "try to prevent imminent real-world harm." While the model continued to receive instructions not to encourage self-harm under that rubric, the Raine family believes these conflicting guidelines led to dangerous engagement by ChatGPT.

Raine died two months after those policies were implemented. The AI model validated his suicidal thinking and provided him explicit instructions on how he could die, according to the original lawsuit filed in August.

Before Raine's death, he was exchanging more than 650 messages per day with ChatGPT. While the chatbot occasionally shared the number for a crisis hotline, it didn't shut the conversations down and always continued to engage. It even proposed writing a suicide note for Raine, his parents claim.

The amended complaint against OpenAI now alleges that the company engaged in intentional misconduct instead of reckless indifference.

Mashable contacted OpenAI for comment about the amended complaint, but didn't receive a response prior to publication.

Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that its 4o model was overly sycophantic. A spokesperson for the company told the New York Times it was "deeply saddened" by Raine's death, and that its safeguards may degrade in long interactions with the chatbot.

Though OpenAI has announced new safety measures aimed at preventing similar tragedies, many are not yet part of ChatGPT. Common Sense Media has rated ChatGPT as "high risk" for teens, specifically recommending that they not use it for mental health or emotional support.

Last week, Altman said on X that the company had made ChatGPT "pretty restrictive" to be "careful with mental health issues." He declared, with no additional detail, that the company had been "able to mitigate the serious mental health issues" and that it would soon relax its restrictions. In the same post, Altman announced that OpenAI would roll out "erotica for verified adults."

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

OpenAI last published a model spec in September, with no significant changes to its mental health or suicide prevention directives, according to Eli Wade-Scott, partner at Edelson PC and a lawyer representing the Raines.

"It was a remarkable moment for Sam Altman to declare 'Mission Accomplished' on mental health while simultaneously saying that he intended to start allowing erotic content on ChatGPT — a change that plainly has the intended effect of further drawing users into dependent, emotional relationships with ChatGPT," Wade-Scott told Mashable.

This Apple Watch alternative is now on sale for its best price yet

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:05:36 +0000

SAVE 20%: As of Oct. 15, the CMF by Nothing Watch 3 Pro has dropped to $79, its lowest price ever. That’s a 20% discount and $20 in savings.

CMF by Nothing Watch 3 Pro

$69 at Amazon
$99 Save $30

If you’ve been eying the Apple Watch Series 11, but just can’t stomach the price, we found a budget deal on a feature-rich alternative that’ll give you everything you need to monitor your health, track your fitness goals, and stay connected.

As of Oct. 15, the CMF by Nothing Watch 3 Pro has dropped to $79, its lowest price ever, according to CamelCamelCamel. That’s a 20% discount and $20 in savings.

The CMF by Nothing Watch 3 Pro definitely looks more expensive than it is, with a big 1.43-inch AMOLED screen and a sleek metal frame. It covers all your key health stats, including advanced tracking for heart rate, sleep, stress, and SpO2 levels. For outdoor workouts, the dual-band GPS gives you super-accurate route tracking, whether you're running or biking. Plus, with a battery that lasts up to 13 days on a single charge, you won't need to worry about it losing juice on your next run or weekend adventure.

Get a free year of MyFitnessPal Premium when you subscribe to Calm

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:02:34 +0000

GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION: For a limited time, when you buy a one-year subscription to Calm Premium, you'll also get a free one-year trial of MyFitnessPal Premium.

Credit: Calm / MyFitnessPal

Calm Premium

$62.99 at Calm
$69.99 Save $7.00

It’s never a bad time to invest in your health, and right now, two of the biggest names in the industry are making it a little easier (and cheaper) through a limited-time BOGO offer.

As of Oct. 15, any new U.S. Calm subscriber will receive a free year of MyFitnessPal Premium with their purchase. This deal runs through Nov. 30, 2025, and according to the press release, it’s limited to the first 10,000 people who sign up. When your year is up, the Calm subscription will auto-renew at the regular price of $79.99 (unless you cancel).

Calm Premium gives you access to the app’s entire library of content, which includes hundreds of guided meditations, exclusive music tracks for focus and relaxation, and thousands of Slee Stories to help you wind down. It’s definitely an upgrade from the free version, and according to a Calm survey, 92 percent of subscribers who use the app regularly (five or more times per week) reported higher quality sleep.

Plus, with one free year of MyFitnessPal Premium (Note: this is not a free year of Premium+), you’ll be able to track your meals, monitor your caloric intake, and access tailored nutritional insights ad-free. You’ll also be able to use the barcode scanner and the new Voice Log feature, which lets you record entire meals just by talking.

Therabody introduces new, budget-friendlier LED face mask

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 16:08:49 +0000

Therabody announced four new products on Oct. 14, and among them is the TheraFace Mask Glo. This is the brand's second foray into red light LED face masks, and it comes at a more affordable price point than the original TheraFace Mask.

Where to buy TheraFace Mask Glo

TheraFace Mask Glo

$379.99 at Therabody

TheraFace Mask Glo

$379.99 at Nordstrom

The TheraFace Mask Glo retails for $379.99 and is available now. It features 504 red, red plus infrared, and blue LED lights to target wrinkles, acne, and skin elasticity. Treatments range from four to 12 minutes, and you can choose if you want the full cycle or just specific light colors. When used regularly, the TheraFace Mask Glo should visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles, firm skin, and even skin texture in as little as eight weeks.

Choose your treatment to target different skin ailments. Credit: Therabody

In addition to LED light therapy, the mask has vibrating technology in the head strap for a gentle scalp massage. The original TheraFace Mask has vibrating plates on the face mask itself for a full head massage, so that's what you're missing out on in the more affordable version.

I tested the OG TheraFace Mask, and my big hold-up with it was its $650 price. So, I'm excited to see Therabody offer a more budget-friendly LED treatment without skimping on features. I saw improvements in my skin after using the TheraFace Mask, and it's still a staple in my skincare routine (I even gave it a Mashable Choice Award).

Therabody differs from other LED masks in its design. The mask is one solid sheet with only eye holes — Shark's CryoGlow and CurrentBody's Skin both have nose and mouth cutouts — so it targets the entire face. It's also totally cordless and doesn't require a remote. Instead, a button on the side of the mask triggers and controls the treatments.

Along with the TheraFace Mask Glo, Therabody introduced the Theragun Mini Plus, Theragun Sense (2nd Gen), and Theragun Prime (6th Gen). All of the new products are available now.

A mass exit from social media

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Last Friday night, close to a hundred of us gathered around candle-lit picnic blankets with a makeshift stage at the head of the grass. We know, that’s probably not your idea of a typical night at Tompkins Square Park in downtown Manhattan — but it’s safe to say we did something a bit … different.

We got off together. Off the apps, that is; after a big countdown, we deleted our accounts to digital platforms that we’ve simply had enough of.

It was hard to predict how many would be joining us for this “Delete Day” — having no more social media ourselves, we hit the streets with fliers and chalk to spread the word over the past couple of weeks. At the same time, we weren’t surprised by the energetic turnout. People are ready to take a real stance against the attention economy: it’s become abundantly clear that the convenience isn’t worth the brainrot.

Trying to limit one’s use of a persuasively designed app doesn’t do much to brighten our tech-addicted, media-saturated age. We can’t just spend less time sitting through exploitative algorithms, mind-melting AI slop, and shameful advertising. When platforms are designed on the fundamental premise of extraction, we can’t just use them more intentionally, either.

It’s time we opt out, for good.

The gathering was the NYC kick-off of the newly formed “Time to Refuse” campaign, a global campaign led by Gen Z to promote “appstinence,” a term that means “to refrain from using technology that is designed to be addictive.” Popular platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X fall under this umbrella.

With the fervor of freedom, participants of all ages shouted what accounts they would be deleting. “I’m deleting Hinge!” yelled one in the back. Everyone roared. “I’m doing Instagram, Snapchat, and Spotify,” a triple deleter jumped in.

The two of us, Gabriela and Nick, part of the team who set up this campaign, kicked the night off as co-hosts.

Nick started by raising the energy. His choice of LinkedIn was met with great applause and laughter. Gabriela followed by describing the perilous state of the technological landscape, and how this is only the beginning of a larger resistance.

And it is. As far as the formal campaign goes, many partners are expected to follow, with events in Kenya, Finland, Canada, and various other stops in the United States like Philadelphia.

Gabriela, the 24-year-old founder of the “appstinence” movement, was raised in 2000s Silicon Valley. As tech behemoths decided the direction of society, they decided hers as well. After getting her first smart device at 9 and making her first social media account at 10, she spent over a decade of her life “chronically online.” To this day she is working to unlearn how addictive technology conditioned her habits, inner state, and perspective on the world.

Just a year older, Nick endured the same kind of self-control struggles with video games, apps, and smartphones — until he recognized it doesn’t have to be that way. After the mess of COVID and an eye-opening stint at a couple of startups — including a social media marketing role! — Nick went all-in on removing addictive technology from his life in favor of in-person connection. Through work on policy, education, and community organizing, he’s identified a strong coalition moving to end the screen-based life.

This isn’t a last-ditch Hail Mary against Big Tech. These companies have not undone our humanity. Step by step, people are reclaiming their lives from products made to addict and influence us.

We refuse so we can rebuild. Quitting addictive technology is a gateway. The act is necessary to do all the important work that remains: it frees us up for more acts of agency.

The fact that we had to hold an in-person event for people to delete one account is itself an indictment of the problem. Popular advice to just take a day off from our phones or shut them off to focus is just not working.

A robust solution, at this point, requires a mass exit. The space beyond social media is where we’ll discover better alternatives. With care and dedication, our creativity will take on new forms; our social fabric will strengthen; appropriate tech tools will come in time. You don’t need a perfect vision of the future right now — just make a move.

We offer our ritual as an example for anyone to follow. Our team found some crates, handpainted a banner, sourced lights and speakers from filmmaker friends. In a frenetic, late-night sprint, we co-authored a booklet with reflection questions and instructions on how to delete accounts. We drew on what we knew best, to unite in our own way.

You can do the same, on any scale. Let a few gather to delete today so more can gather tomorrow. And please reach out if you’re looking for support.

This article reflects the opinion of the writers.

Gabriela Nguyen is the founder of the appstinence movement and Nick Plante is the NYC event organizer for the Time to Refuse campaign.

New California law hopes to stop AI-assisted suicide among teens

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 22:13:14 +0000

After sustained outcry from child safety advocates, families, and politicians, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill designed to curb AI chatbot behavior that experts say is unsafe or dangerous, particularly for teens.

The law, known as SB 243, requires chatbot operators prevent their products from exposing minors to sexual content while also consistently reminding those users that chatbots are not human. Additionally, companies subject to the law must implement a protocol for handling situations in which a user discusses suicidal ideation, suicide, and self-harm.

State senator Steve Padilla, a Democrat representing San Diego, authored and introduced the bill earlier this year. In February, he told Mashable that SB 243 was meant to address urgent emerging safety issues with AI chatbots. Given the technology's rapid evolution and deployment, Padilla said the "regulatory guardrails are way behind."

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that supports children and parents as they navigate media and technology, declared AI chatbot companions as unsafe for teens younger than 18 earlier this year.

The Federal Trade Commission recently launched an inquiry into chatbots acting as companions. Last month, the agency informed major companies with chatbot products, including OpenAI, Alphabet, Meta, and Character Technologies, that it sought information about how they monetize user engagement, generate outputs, and develop so-called characters.

Prior to the passage of SB 243, Padilla lamented how AI chatbot companions can uniquely harm young users: "This technology can be a powerful educational and research tool, but left to their own devices the Tech Industry is incentivized to capture young people's attention and hold it at the expense of their real world relationships."

Last year, bereaved mother Megan Garcia filed a wrongful death suit against Character.AI, one of the most popular AI companion chatbot platforms. Her son, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide following heavy engagement with a Character.AI companion. The suit alleges that Character.AI was designed to "manipulate Sewell – and millions of other young customers – into conflating reality and fiction," among other dangerous defects.

Garcia, who lobbied on behalf of SB 243, applauded Newsom's signing.

"Today, California has ensured that a companion chatbot will not be able to speak to a child or vulnerable individual about suicide, nor will a chatbot be able to help a person to plan his or her own suicide," Garcia said in a statement.

SB 243 also requires companion chatbot platforms to produce an annual report on the connection between use of their product and suicidal ideation. It permits families to pursue private legal action against "noncompliant and negligent developers."

Some experts, however, disagree that SB 243 will robustly protect children from AI chatbot harm. James P. Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, told Mashable in a statement that the bill had been "watered down after major Big Tech industry pressure."

According to the nonprofit's analysis of the bill, companies could avoid liability if safeguards fail, as long as they were implemented in the first place.

Several hours after Newsom signed SB 243 into law, he vetoed a separate bill sponsored by Common Sense Media. That legislation, AB 1064, would've prohibited chatbot companions for minors when they're capable of certain foreseeable harms, among other safety measures.

Last week, Newsom signed legislation requiring AI labs to both disclose potential harms of their technology as well as information about their safety protocols.

As Mashable's Chase DiBenedetto reported, the bill is meant to "keep AI developers accountable to safety standards even when facing competitive pressure and includes protections for potential whistleblowers."

On Monday, Newsom also signed into laws two separate bills aimed at improving online child safety. AB 56 requires warning labels for social media platforms, highlighting the toll that addictive social media feeds can have on children's mental health and well-being. The other bill, AB 1043, implements an age verification requirement that will go into effect in 2027.

UPDATE: Oct. 13, 2025, 4:39 p.m. PDT This story has been updated to include Gov. Newsom's veto of AB 1064.

UPDATE: Oct. 13, 2025, 3:11 p.m. PDT This story has been update to include a statement from James P. Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media.

Save 30% on this Fitbit Charge 6 this weekend

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 18:15:58 +0000

Save $55: As of Oct. 11, Walmart.com has the Fitbit Charge 6 on sale for 30% off. It costs $104.45, down from its list price of $159.95.

Credit: Fitbit

Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness Tracker with Heart Rate

$104.45 at walmart
$159.95 Save $55.50

This weekend, Walmart.com has an excellent deal going on the Fitbit Charge 6. If you’re someone who likes to jog, hike, or bike among the changing leaves of fall, consider scoring a new Fitbit to track your progress.

The Fitbit Charge 6 has the most accurate heart rate tracking technology yet, according to the brand. Firstly, the device is packed full of fitness and health monitoring features that I will break down in a second. The device is also an excellent smartwatch; stay connected to Google Maps, Google Wallet, and get call, text, and app notifications as much (or as little) as you’d like.

The Fitbit also offers some fun aesthetic features, including different band colors (black, white, or coral). The vibrant touchscreen has watch faces that are fully customizable. The brand offers wrist straps in two sizes: small (140 mm–180 mm) or large (180 mm–220 mm). The battery life can last up to 6 days on one charge and is water-resistant for up to 50m.

As for the health features, there are many. The Fitbit Charge 6 features ECG and irregular heart rhythm notifications, oxygen saturation monitoring (Sp02). The device also offers notifications for an unusually low or high resting heart rate. You can also utilize your Fitbit Charge 6 for sleep wellness with smart wake alarms, nightly sleep scores, and on-wrist guided mindfulness sessions. Purchase of this model also includes a premium membership that gives users access to guided workouts, meditation sessions, and “deeper wellness insights”.

The best SAD therapy lamps to remedy the blues this season

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 04:24:06 +0000

There's plenty to not like about the winter. It's cold, it's icy, it's windy, and — yes — it's very, very dark. And as far as we're concerned that's the worst part: Having to endure those short days, and dark mornings and evenings. The darkness takes its toll.

It's draining trying to live your life without enough sunlight. That's especially true for office workers who spend every hour of daylight stuck inside a building. It can be a struggle to get out of bed in the morning, and even harder to be productive and then kick back when the working day is done. But it's not all doom and gloom.

SAD therapy lamps are a great way to help relieve the winter blues. And there's a wide range of these devices available, helping alleviate the symptoms of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) if you're not getting enough natural light. All of which means you don't have to suffer through six months of darkness. But which is the right SAD therapy lamp for you? Let us help put some light on the subject with some useful information and a selection of the best SAD therapy lamps available right now.

What is seasonal affective disorder?

Just as it sounds — and appropriately shortened to SAD — seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that follows a seasonal pattern. It usually affects people during the winter months, causing sufferers to feel low, lethargic, anxious, or irritable.

What causes seasonal affective disorder?

According to the NHS guidelines, the cause of seasonal affective disorder is not fully understood though it’s usually linked to the lack of sunlight, which may prevent the brain from producing certain hormones or upset your body clock.

How does light therapy work?

Spending around 30 minutes in front of a light is thought to reduce the effects of SAD by simulating sunlight, which can encourage your brain produce melatonin and serotonin to help with your sleep and moods. The NHS recommends light therapy as one of standard treatments for seasonal affective disorder.

What does lux mean?

You’ll see this term a lot when shopping for therapy lamps. Lux is the unit of measurement for light intensity. According to some research, a light intensity of 2,500 can improve your wellbeing. Most of the lights listed below have a lux of up to 10,000.

How big are light therapy lamps?

While the desired effects are essentially all the same — a means of getting some light on you — they do come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are portable, which allows you to take them wherever you go — particularly into the office, where a healthy amount of light can be hard to come by — while others are made to stay in a fixed spot.

What is the best SAD therapy lamp?

It's up to you to decide the lamp that works best for you, your home, and your daily routine. But we’ve done the research and put a spotlight on the very best models.

These are the best SAD therapy lamps for 2025.

I love the Loftie Alarm Clock, and its on sale during October Prime Day

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 02:45:04 +0000

Save 20%: The Loftie alarm clock is getting a rare discount this October Prime Day — as of Oct. 7, its priced dropped to $135.99, slashing $34 off its usual $169.99 price tag.

Loftie alarm clock

$144.49 at Amazon
$169.99 Save $25.50

Let's get one thing straight: $165 is an objectively stupid price to pay for an alarm clock. I'm willing to acknowledge that.

However, I'm also willing to stand by my purchase of the Loftie alarm clock, and genuinely think it's one of the smartest purchases I've ever made. For one, there is a case to be made for investing in sleeping well — and waking up peacefully. There's also a case to be made for softening the blow of the price tag by buying this clock on sale. I bought mine refurbished, but this rare October Prime Day deal also helps, shaving $34 off the price and bringing the clock down to $135.99.

A great reason to pick up an alarm clock in the first place is to give yourself the freedom of leaving your phone outside of your bedroom at night. Though it's technically a smart clock and compatible with an app, the Loftie clock can be used solely as a non-companion app device after the initial setup, making it perfect for my purposes.

Maybe the best part is the alarm tones — one of the reasons I struggled to kick my phone habit is that I hate being jolted awake, and I hate ruining the sound of listening to music in an effort to set a song I like as an alarm. Loftie truly accomplished the impossible in its "getup" and "wakeup tones," which are soothing sounds that play at a preset interval (I preferred the three-minute setting) to lull you into consciousness. It is the sonic equivalent of the sun softly lighting up a room, and that alone makes this alarm clock worth every penny to me.

Other features include: a Bluetooth speaker that can stream audio from your phone, a red mode for the display, a night light, great customer service, sleep machine sounds and guided meditations, and a bed signal to remind you to wind down. Plus, it looks great on a nightstand.

Amazons famous LifeStraw Prime Day deals are back: Grab $9 personal water filters

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 21:10:00 +0000

CLASSIC PRIME DAY DEAL: as of October 7, LIfeStraw is selling their cult-favorite personal water filter straws starting at $9.45. The new Peak series model starts at $18.71.

Credit: LifeStraw

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

$9.45 at Amazon
$17.49 Save $8.04

Credit: LifeStraw

LifeStraw Peak Series Personal Water Filter

$18.71 at Amazon
$24.99 Save $6.28

The wildly popular and groundbreaking portable water filtration device, LifeStraw, is among the all-time great Prime Day deals. Year after year, LifeStraw portable water filters go on sale for 50% off or more, and we love to see it. These water filters could be potentially life-saving, allowing you to drink even the grossest water safely during emergencies, or simply because you’re thirsty. The water filtration brand also has water pitchers, dispensers, and water bottles.

For Prime Day, LifeStraw has reduced the prices of both its original model and its deluxe model. LifeStraw claims to remove 99.999999% of waterborne bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, and 99.999% of waterborne parasites, including Giardia and Cryptosporidium. The brand even promises to remove microplastics from your drinking water.

LifeStraw is beloved by hikers, wildfire fighters, and campers alike. It can come in handy, and its small size makes it perfect for packing into your hiking pack or emergency bug-out bag. The LifeStraw original model lasts for up to 1,000 gallons of water. The brand also donates some of its products to people without access to safe drinking water with each purchase.

The peak model has an enhanced microfilter, which reduces clogging in the straw, which can speed up the rate at which you can drink from it. It also has an unlimited shelf life, so it can live in your go-back for as long as it needs to. This model can also screw onto hoses or water bottles.

It just wouldn't be Prime Day without these LifeStraw deals.

The original Peloton bike is steeply discounted for October Prime Day

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 15:45:36 +0000

SAVE $400: Peloton's original bike is nearly 30% off for Amazon's October Prime Day. You can get it for $1,045, down from its list price of $1,445.

Credit: Peloton

Peloton original bike

$1,045 at Amazon
$1,445 Save $400

Like seemingly everyone else, my now-wife and I purchased a Peloton bike during 2020's COVID lockdown. Unlike everyone else, it has remained a staple of our daily lives and not become a clothes-hanger.

My wife, especially, has become a diehard — all told, we've done hundreds upon hundreds of workouts on the bike in more than five years. It has held up remarkably well — in fact, we've had zero issues — and I can't recommend the bike enough.

Good news: The original bike — the one we own — is steeply discounted for Amazon's October Prime Day. It's priced at $1,045, down from its current list price of $1,445, and way lower than its former price tag that was well over $2,000.

Peloton recently debuted a new cross-training bike with AI-aided coaching features, among other new products. It tracks, then, that its oldest model would be steeply discounted.

But the original Peloton bike remains a really good piece of equipment. I actually prefer some of its features, like the vise-esque adjustment handles that are sturdier than knobs and are often more capable of making small changes to your seat or handlebar positioning. Our review of the bike in 2020 was entirely positive, except for the price, which is now heavily discounted.

If you've been considering becoming a Peloton person, now might just be the best (and cheapest) time.

Samsungs fantastic Galaxy Ring hit a new best price ever on October Prime Day

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 15:40:49 +0000

SAVE $120: As of Oct. 7, day one of the Prime Big Deal Days shopping event, the Samsung Galaxy Ring dropped to just $279.99 at Amazon. That's 30% off its list price and a new best price ever.

Credit: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Ring

$279.99 at Amazon
$399.99 Save $120

Happy Prime Big Deal Days, aka October Prime Day or Prime Day 2, to all who celebrate. We're pleased to see a ton of record-low prices popping up during this fall shopping event. One we're particularly excited about is the Samsung Galaxy Ring. The Korea-based tech giant's sleek wearable rarely sees big discounts. And even when it does, the price drop is typically only on select color or size options.

For October Prime Day, however, Amazon has dropped the price of the Samsung Galaxy Ring in every size and color (black, silver, gold) to $279.99. That's 30% off its list price and a new best price ever across the board.

While the Oura Ring 4 has earned the title of Mashable's favorite smart ring, the Galaxy Ring still holds a special place in our hearts. Mashable's reviewer Kim Gedeon gave it a near-perfect rating and even said she'd choose it over her Apple Watch for its less obtrusive design and a battery life that knocks it out of the park. Other standout features include a comfortable, durable, and gorgeous design, creepily accurate health tracking and monitoring, and zero subscription fees (unlike the Oura Ring).

Even at full cost, we love the Galaxy Ring. For $120 off, we wholeheartedly recommend it for Android users.

Be the first to know about the best October Prime Day deals. Follow Mashable's Prime Big Deal Days live blog and keep checking back for the latest discounts, stock alerts, and deal drops.