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TL;DR: Digitize your DVDs with a lifetime subscription to DVDFab DVD Ripper on sale for $59 (reg. $84.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: DVDFab Software DVDFab DVD Ripper for Windows: Lifetime Subscription $58.99
$84.99 Save $26.00   Get Deal

At any point, streaming services can take down your favorite movies and shows. Physical media like DVDs are one alternative, but what happens when you want to watch a movie on your phone? If you want the permanence of physical media with the convenience of digital, check out DVDFab. This simple DVD Ripper copies the movies from your DVDs so you can watch them as easily as you would on any streaming platform, and right now, a lifetime subscription is only $58.99 (reg. $84.99).

You start by loading a DVD from a disc, folder, or ISO file. DVDFab detects copy protection like CSS, region codes, or analog guards and decrypts it in the background before ripping. From there, you can convert to common formats like MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, or even just audio formats such as MP3 and AAC. There are profiles for phones, tablets, streaming boxes, and game consoles, so you can pick something like an iPhone or Roku preset instead of guessing at bitrates and resolutions.

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If you care about quality, there is a lossless mode that copies video to MKV with 5.1 AC3 audio in a 1:1 style output. If you want to save space, you can compress with minimal quality loss and tweak codec, bitrate, and resolution yourself. GPU acceleration support for things like multi-core CPUs, NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel Quick Sync helps keep rip times down, especially if you are working through a stack of discs.

There’s also a basic editor. You can trim and crop, merge clips, adjust brightness and contrast, add a watermark, or insert external subtitles. Subtitles can be extracted as SRT files through OCR so media servers like Plex or Kodi can read them, and metadata files can be generated to keep big libraries organized.

For anyone serious about backing up a DVD collection, the task queue lets you line up multiple discs so the software moves from one job to the next without babysitting.

Watch what you want without worrying about a streaming service taking it down. Get a DVDFab DVD Ripper Lifetime Subscription on sale for $58.99.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: 1ForAll.ai gives you voice generation, voice cloning, image creation, video generation, and unlimited long-form processing — all for a one-time $89.99 (reg. $792).

Opens in a new window Credit: 1ForAll 1ForAll AI: Lifetime Subscription (Advance Plan) $89.99
$792 Save $702.01   Get Deal

AI tools don’t have to be overwhelming — or spread across five different platforms. If you’re looking for something that actually simplifies your creative workflow, 1ForAll.ai is refreshingly straightforward.

And you can get lifetime access for just $89.99 (reg. $792) for a limited time.

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At its core, 1ForAll.ai brings together something many creators need: voice, image, and video generation in one unified place. Instead of bouncing between apps to record a voiceover, design an image, or animate a simple video, you can upload your text or prompt and let the platform handle the rest.

It’s built on leading AI technologies from OpenAI, Google, AWS, Azure, Luma, and select open-source models — so the quality remains consistently high, which means your output does too.

One standout feature is its ability to handle unlimited context. That means you can turn long documents, like entire books, training modules, or massive PDFs, into crystal-clear audio without chopping them into pieces. For anyone creating e-learning materials, audiobooks, or accessible long-form content, this is a huge advantage.

Voice cloning is another highlight. You can generate natural, expressive voices (even multilingual ones) with just a minute of audio. And if you work in bulk, the Excel-to-Speech and Excel-to-Image tools allow you to generate hundreds or thousands of assets at once.

The platform also supports text-to-video creation, transforming your ideas or images into dynamic visuals with minimal effort. Everything is designed to be user-friendly, with no technical skills required.

Whether you’re a content creator, educator, or marketer, 1ForAll.ai consolidates everything you need into one place. Don’t miss getting lifetime access to 1ForAll.ai’s Advance Plan while it’s just $89.99 (reg. $792) for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

If there’s a single through line at CES 2026, it’s AI living. Every major brand wants you fully embedded in its vision of the smart home — a place where your appliances talk to each other, anticipate your needs, and quietly judge your lifestyle choices. LG even showcased an AI robot butler that resembled R.O.B. from Super Smash Bros., except this one performs laundry and engages in conversation with your air conditioner.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: See the latest news, surprises, and strange tech from LG, Samsung, Lego, and new startups

Samsung, however, wants to go bigger.

Tucked inside the Wynn casino in Las Vegas, Samsung’s AI Living Exhibit is a sprawling showcase of what the company calls its "Companion to AI Living" vision — a fully integrated ecosystem where the term 'AI' is omnipresent. The setup walks press and attendees through a large museum with Samsung products that all promise to think, respond, and collaborate on your behalf.

And when I say everything has AI slapped onto it, I mean everything. The company debuted a first-of-its-kind 130-inch Micro RGB TV that uses AI to dynamically tweak picture quality, strip out commentary from soccer broadcasts, or boost crowd noise to stadium levels. There are also AI-enabled appliances that gamify the process of finding a recipe based on what’s in your fridge, then send instructions directly to your oven. There’s even an OLED "record player" that doesn’t play records at all — it just looks like one, presumably for vibes.

Behold. The world’s first 130-Inch Micro RGB TV Credit: Chance Townsend / Mashable

Samsung’s Vision AI Companion sits at the center of this whole operation, acting as the connective tissue between TVs, phones, appliances, and wearables.

Samsung wants its AI to be the omniscient power driving your home. Since at least 2017, tech journalists have been loudly declaring that there’s no escaping the smart home (and yes, I’m guilty, too), but with each passing year, we inch closer to that headline becoming less prediction and more lived reality. Your TV suggests dinner, your fridge confirms the ingredients, your washer times its cycle around your schedule, and your robot vacuum keeps an eye on the dog while you’re out.

Does all of this actually require artificial intelligence? That’s debatable. But CES has never been about restraint. Is it excessive? Absolutely. Is it impressive? Also yes, even if "AI living" sometimes feels like marketing.

The Tri-fold is here too, by the way It's essentially a very sleek tablet. Credit: Chance Townsend / Mashable

I’ll mention this last — fittingly, since Samsung is treating it the same way — but tucked inside the AI Living Exhibit is something people actually want to touch: the Galaxy Z Tri-Fold.

Because this is CES and not an Unpacked event, Samsung is being low-key about it. There’s no stage demo, no dramatic reveal, no "one more thing." That’s likely because the Tri-Fold is already on the market in South Korea, and Samsung clearly doesn’t want to step on its own marketing calendar.

If history is any indication, the phone will surface during a proper Unpacked event. That could mean January, sometime in the late spring or summer, or the fall window around September or October. Converted to U.S. pricing, the Galaxy Z Tri-Fold rings in at roughly $2,400 (or 3,590,400 Korean won), which helps explain why early reviews have been… divided. One particularly blunt headline labeled the device "expensive and half-baked," which feels both harsh and, depending on your tolerance for folding screens, not entirely unfair.

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.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a keynote address to help kick off CES 2026 in Las Vegas.

The tech world was watching as Huang delivered his speech, considering Nvidia is the primary hardware company that powers the AI boom. Not for nothing, the other major player in that space, AMD, will present a keynote address of its own.

In advance of the speech, Nvidia hadn't said what, exactly, would be revealed during Huang's keynote beyond "what’s next in AI." But anything Nvidia does is big news in 2026 — so giving the keynote a watch is certainly a good idea.

The keynote was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 5. You can watch a livestream on CNET's YouTube page, which we've also embedded below. If you miss the keynote, it'll be available to watch on replay. (Disclosure: CNET is owned by Ziff Davis, the same company that owns Mashable.)

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.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Dr. Lisa Su will help get CES 2026 underway on Monday, Jan. 5 by delivering a keynote address.

AMD is a major player in the tech world, if perhaps not a household name like Apple or Samsung. It's one of the preeminent chipmakers on the globe, making it increasingly powerful and important in the AI era. OpenAI, in fact, just announced a massive partnership with AMD in an effort to build out AI infrastructure.

AMD wrote on its site that Su will take the "CES stage in Las Vegas to highlight, alongside partners and customers, the AMD vision for delivering future AI solutions – from cloud to enterprise, edge and devices."

You can watch the keynote address on YouTube. It's scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 5. We've also embedded the livestream below.

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.

Amazon's new AI-powered version of Alexa just got more useful.

Amazon announced during CES 2026 that Alexa+, the souped up version of Alexa that launched last year, is now usable via a web browser, negating the need for an external smart home device. You can access Alexa+ from the Alexa website, but only if you have an Alexa+ Early Access subscription at the moment.

From there, you can type in text prompts and have the newer, allegedly smarter version of Alexa answer them for you without needing to spend a couple hundred dollars on an Echo device.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: See the latest news, surprises, and strange tech from LG, Samsung, Lego, and new startups

This is nifty not just because it cuts down costs for people who don't want to buy an Echo or Ring device, but because it also supplements people who already own them. You can use Alexa+ from a web browser to control your smart home devices, as well as do anything else you'd ask an AI assistant to do.

TikTok is all about buttons in the new year. 365 buttons to be precise. No, not the ones you press in an elevator. Yes, like the ones on your shirt. No, it doesn't really make sense.

The whole thing started innocuously enough. People were commenting on a TikTok about rebranding themselves in the new year. Enter TikTokker Tamara, who goes by the handle @flylikeadove. Tamara commented, "I’m getting 365 buttons, one for each day because I want to do more stuff and I’m scared of time so I want to be more conscious of it."

People responded with questions such as "Why buttons?" and "What do the buttons mean?" and "Are the buttons to wear?"

SEE ALSO: Was 2016 the last good year?

Tamara replied: "Just to have to see how quick days pass and to remind myself that time passes, and I just have fun and to do a lot of stuff."

OK, fair enough. Just like a calendar or a daily checkmark. But people kept following up. Finally, Tamara ended the conversation with a wonderful bit of snark.

Tamara wrote: "Hey, so it actually only has to make sense to me for me to do it, and I don’t feel like explaining it to anyone else."

This all has since gone viral as people have obsessed over the buttons, the Brat nature of it all, and the silliness of a random trend. This video from @jasonsappy explaining the saga does a great job of breaking it all down.

Search around TikTok, and you'll see endless comments and videos about buttons. It's become a meme, really. Many people, for instance, love to simply comment, "I'm getting 365 buttons," on videos. There are also Brat edits, fan cams, and, yes, brands getting in on it.

People especially love Tamara's insistence that the buttons only need to make sense to her — and her consistent desire to stay private and unbothered. People have only loved Tamara more, as she has consistently told them that virality doesn't matter to her.

The idea of storing/moving/buying/placing/collecting 365 buttons is a bit silly — why buttons, for instance? But it does make sense as a physical act to remind you of the passage of time. Doesn't it feel good to cross something off your to-do list? Using a physical button for each day would serve as a tactile reminder of the passage of time. Each button represents a moment to treasure the precious few moments we're given.

I get it! It makes sense to me — not that it matters to Tamara.

There's a second acronym constantly looming above the floor of any CES: TBD. That's the most info we have about a good chunk of products announced at CES 2026 so far. "Coming soon" could mean next month to some brands and next year to others. Sometimes, we don't even know if these debuted products will ever make it out of the prototype phase.

While no one is asking for LG's laundry-folding robot to be sold at Target or anything, a few more tangible gadgets with no waiting period would be nice. As of Jan. 5, there are already a handful of products unveiled over the weekend that are already available to buy (or at least pre-order) — and CES isn't even close to over yet. CES 2026 officially runs between Jan. 6 and Jan. 9, so we'll be updating this list of products you can buy right now as they're unveiled.

1. TCL X11L SQD-Mini LED TV

TCL's big TV announcement wasn't just another RGB TV like we were expecting from all of the major TV brands. That doesn't mean the new TCL TV isn't going to give Samsung or LG's Micro RGB TVs a run for their money. The TCL X11L is an SQD-Mini LED 4K TV, SQD standing for Super Quantum Dot: a pure white light strewn across an advanced layer of quantum dots instead of the true red, green, and blue light sources used in RGB TVs. The goal is the same: to produce ultra-high peak brightness, typically only possible with QLED and mini-LED panels, and pristine black levels and contrast, typically only possible with OLED panels, all at the same time.

The TCL X11L is available in 75, 85, and 98 inches, but only the $7,999.99 85-inch model is available to add to your cart to preorder at TCL's website. (The other two have prices, but are "out of stock.")

Opens in a new window Credit: TCL TCL 85-inch X11L SQD-Mini LED 4K TV $7,999.99 at TCL
  Shop Now 2. DuRoBo Krono e-reader

A major player has entered the e-reader villa, and it's speaking directly to people who really value portability. DuRoBo unveiled its 6.1-inch Krono e-reader at CES 2026, and several specs make it a worthy Kindle or Kobo alternative. Despite its pocket-sized build (that's smaller than the basic Kindle), the Krono packs 128GB of storage compared to the 32GB e-readers typically have. It also has Bluetooth connectivity, a built-in speaker, and a 300 ppi resolution HD display. Shopping reporter Samantha Mangino says "it bridges the gap between a tablet and e-reader and, with black and white displays, potentially makes it less tempting to scroll."

The Krono e-paper device is available for $279.99 on DuRoBo's website.

Opens in a new window Credit: DuRoBo DuRoBo Krono e-reader $279.99 at DuRoBo
  Shop Now 3. A vibrating chef's knife

The CES home tech arena has quite the range, from smart lights and ever-evolving robot vacuums to concepts for straight up robot butlers. Kitchen tech is somewhere on that spectrum. Last year, it was the Electric Salt Spoon. This year, Seattle Ultrasonics is aiming to streamline at-home meal prep with the C-200 Ultrasonic Chef's Knife. The 8-inch blade is already quite sharp on its own, but with the press of a button, 30,000 sonic vibrations per minute make the knife feel sharper than it physically. Allegedly, the amount of effort required on your end should be chopped in half, even on tricky ingredients like bread or winter squashes.

Senior shopping reporter Haley Henschel got to try it firsthand on the ground at CES, noting that it sliced like a dream. "I had no trouble getting it to cut paper-thin pieces of tomato with a light touch. Seattle Ultrasonics' rep likened it to riding a bike versus pedaling an e-bike in that it makes your experience more effortless."

The C-200 UltraSonic Chef's Knife is available to pre-order for $399 at Seattle Ultrasonic's website.

Opens in a new window Credit: Seattle Ultrasonics C-200 Ultrasonic Chef's Knife $399 at Seattle Ultrasonics
  Shop Now 4. Xreal 1S glasses

Xreal debuted the Xreal One Pro AR glasses at CES 2025, but they were pretty impossible to come buy until they finally became available at Amazon and Best Buy at the end of August. Just months later, there's already another new (and more affordable) pair from Xreal on the market. The Xreal 1S glasses can convert 2D games and videos to 3D using 3D spatial technology, plus the help of boosted specs over older Xreal models. These include a 500-inch spatial screen (compared to 147 inches on the XReal One) and 1200p HD resolution (compared to 1080p on the Xreal One and One Pro).

Despite all of the improvements and a fun new cobalt color option, the Xreal 1S glasses are cheaper than both other pairs. They're available to buy for $449 at Xreal's website.

Opens in a new window Credit: XREAL Xreal 1S $449 at Xreal
  Shop Now Honorable mention: Birdfy Bath Pro

Though we were first introduced to the Birdfy Bath Pro at CES 2025, it still made an appearance at Birdfy's CES 2026 booth — complete with a sign showcasing its 2026 Innovation Award. So while we wait for Birdfy's 2026 smart hummingbird feeder and its slow-motion 4K video to come out, it's worthwhile to refresh your memory about this other delightful staple for any bird-friendly backyard setup. The solar-powered Bath Pro also has a camera and garnered ridiculously positive reviews during its first year on the market. It would make a great gift for mom or dad (or a gift for pets who like to watch out the window).

You can buy the Birdfy Bath Pro on sale for $299.99 at Birdfy's website, saving you $50 off its original $349.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Birdfy Birdfy Bath Pro $299.99 at Birdfy
$349.99 Save $50   Shop Now

At CES 2026, Lego has announced the upcoming launch of the Lego Smart Play system, an interactive technology the company is calling the biggest evolution to Lego bricks since the introduction of the Minifigure almost 50 years ago.

The new interactive platform will respond to players' actions with appropriate sounds, lights, and behavior, creating a responsive and screen-free play experience.

Available for pre-order starting Jan. 9 in select markets, the Lego Smart Play system includes three interactive elements that react as you build and play — Lego Smart Tags, Lego Smart Bricks, and Lego Smart Minifigures. At a keynote event ahead of CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Lego leaders showed off the smart bricks for the first time, promising that the new play system "brings Lego creations to life like never before."

SEE ALSO: Switchbot claims to have the 'most accessible humanoid housebot' at CES 2026

“For over 90 years, the Lego Group has sparked imagination and creativity in children around the globe. As the world evolves, so do we — innovating to meet the play needs of each new generation. Lego Smart Play is the next exciting chapter in our Lego System in Play and something we are super excited about being able to bring to the world at this scale,” said Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer of the LEGO Group, according to a Lego press release. 

The new Lego Smart Play system will launch on March 1 with three Lego Star Wars sets, and Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm, joined Lego for the announcement to preview the upcoming building kits.

What is the Lego Smart Play System?

Developed by the Lego Group’s Creative Play Lab, the Lego Smart Play system will make sounds and activate lights based on player movements and builds. Lego says the new platform "features more than twenty patented world-firsts," including a new custom-made chip that's smaller than a standard Lego connector stud.

Credit: Lego

The Lego Smart Bricks and Minifigures are the same size and shape as standard Lego pieces, but contain a variety of sensors, such as accelerometers, light sensors, and sound sensors. They also contain a miniature speaker with an onboard synthesiser and a wireless charging system.

The upcoming Lego Smart Play Star Wars Sets include:

Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Luke’s Red Five X-Wing building set — This 584-piece set comes with two Smart Minifigures (Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia), a Lego Smart Brick, and five Lego Smart Tags.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: The latest news, surprises, strange tech, and more

Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter building set — This 473-piece set comes with "a brick-built Rebel Outpost and an Imperial Fueling Station, as well as a SMART Minifigure featuring Darth Vader and a Rebel Fleet Trooper Minifigure." Interactive features include engine sounds.

Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Throne Room Duel & A-Wing building set — This 962-piece set will let players "re-enact and re-imagine one of the most memorable moments from the original Star Wars trilogy, the final lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader at the end of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. It comes with three Smart Minifigures (Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Jedi Luke Skywalker) and a Smart Tag-enabled cannon turret.

You can learn more about the upcoming platform at the Lego Smart Play website.

LG went all out at CES 2026 and we have videos to prove it.

The Korean tech giant held a press conference on Monday morning in Las Vegas to show off its newest gadgets and gizmos, which included a brand new home helper robot named CLOiD. CLOiD moves around on wheels and has two arms with five actuated digits at the end of each that it can use to help out with household tasks, when combined with a bunch of cameras, sensors, and an AI "brain" it uses to personalize responses to its owner over time.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026: This portable device will test meals for allergens in minutes

That's all fine and good to read about, but you should really see it for yourself. Mashable reporter Haley Henschel captured some quick videos of CLOiD being demonstrated at LG's CES event.

Wallpaper TVs glide into view

If a robot doing your laundry wasn't enough to tickle your fancy, LG also showed off some extremely thin Wallpaper TVs. They measure at just a handful of millimeters of thickness despite being big, vibrant-looking living room TV sets, and they need to be seen to be believed.

If that isn't CES, I don't know what is.

A larger proportion of new cars are being bought by affluent Americans as prices and interest rates for auto loans climb, analysts said.

GET FREE EARBUDS: Through Jan. 8 (or while supplies last), you can get a pair of refurbished Bose Ultra Open earbuds for free ($249 value) at Bose.com when you purchase the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 earbuds.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 earbuds $299
+ Get free Bose Ultra Open earbuds (refurbished) Get Deal

Open earbuds are having a moment — just look at the many announcements at CES 2026 from JBL, Anker Soundcore, and more. But even with all the new kids on the block, we still hold a special place in our hearts for the Bose Ultra Open earbuds. They've earned a top spot on our list of the best open earbuds for a reason. If you're still too skeptical to dish out the money on a pair, Bose is giving away refurbished pairs for free. Let's dive in.

Through Jan. 8, you can get a pair of free Bose Ultra Open earbuds (refurbished) when you buy the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 earbuds (Mashable's favorite noise-cancelling earbuds) at Bose.com. The second-generation QuietComfort Ultra earbuds cost $299, while the refurbished Ultra Open earbuds are a $249 value. That means you'll get two pairs of earbuds valued at $548 total for just $299.

In order to snag the deal, just add a pair of QuietComfort Ultra (2nd gen) earbuds to your cart at the Bose website. Once they're in your cart, you'll have the option to select a pair of free Bose Ultra Open earbuds (refurbished) in black, white smoke, or lunar blue. And that's all, folks — easy peasy.

Choose from black, white smoke, or lunar blue colorways. Credit: Bose

The QuietComfort Ultra earbuds (2nd gen) are a worthy investment for anyone who values noise cancellation above all else. "With spatial audio and some of the best ANC we've encountered, these earbuds deliver immersive sound that envelopes you in your music," Mashable's shopping reporter Bethany Allard writes in her review.

While the Ultra Open earbuds obviously won't compare to the QuietComfort Ultras in terms of blocking out noise, they're the best sounding open-ear headphones on the market. "Though we were skeptical at first, these buds are extremely comfortable and score top marks for battery life, spatial audio, and sound quality," Mashable's reviewer writes.

If you're a noise-cancelling headphones kind of person looking to test the waters of open earbuds, this is a premium opportunity. Just be sure to lock in the deal by Jan. 8 (or sooner).

What if Ready or Not looked like a grindhouse movie? Well, sibling filmmakers Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti — who brought us It: Chapter 1 & 2 as well as Welcome to Derry — give us a look at what that kind of freaky film might look like with the first trailer for They Will Kill You.

The Muschiettis are producers on the action-horror-comedy, which is directed by Kirill Sokolov (No Looking Back) and written by Sokolov and Alex Litvak (Predators). They Will Kill You stars Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2, Joker) as a young woman who comes to a high-rise apartment complex called The Virgil looking for work. But all too soon, she learns she's been selected as the next human sacrifice from a demonic cult.

Myha’La, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette co-star — several playing foes looking to take down Beetz's would-be maid. But this sacrifice isn't happening without a fight.

While the premise has a whiff of Ready or Not — unwitting not rich girl gets tricked into a life-or-death battle in a posh location — They Will Kill You offers a distinctive style, even in this trailer. There are vivid colors, quirky uniforms, and violence that is gory and gonzo, recalling the splashy and willfull absurdity of grindhouse horror. So, if you are giddy to see Beetz kicking butt and cracking skulls, mark your calendars.

They Will Kill You opens only in theaters in March 27.

If OpenAI were to buy Pinterest, it would be a big shift for lots of folks.

Now, to be clear, there doesn't seem to be much smoke — at least for now — about OpenAI actually buying Pinterest. The idea surfaced in an article from The Information where staffers predicted what could happen in 2026. Reporter Ann Gehan predicted that OpenAI would buy Pinterest, which is obviously just a bit of prognostication and not a report that a deal was imminent, or even on the table.

Wrote Gehan:

"OpenAI would be most interested in the bones of Pinterest’s business, like its trove of image data and its existing advertising business, as well as relationships with merchants. Pinterest’s digital scrapbooking features could also complement OpenAI’s image- and video-generation tools and help it fend off competition from other AI heavyweights like Google, which launched a Pinterest-like feature in 2025."

So, what would that mean for users and, well, everyone else? For ChatGPT users, that means OpenAI would have access to Pinterest's myriad images and data, which would likely be aimed at improving its search capabilities. It would also provide a ton of well-labeled, specific data for OpenAI to train its model on, which would hopefully improve its capabilities. For OpenAI, it would be buying a cache of info that could help it compete with, say, the data available to Google's Gemini.

Wrote Tom's Guide of the potential purchase, for instance: "Google combined their search crawler with their AI creating an incredible data base — one that has arguably given Gemini the edge." To compete, Tom's Guide argued, one option for OpenAI could be to acquire a platform like Pinterest.

For Pinterest users, you could likely expect some changes — new ownership is bound to do that. But really, a potential OpenAI-owned Pinterest would mean an increasingly shopping-focused, AI-driven world. It means using ChatGPT would include built-in shopping and perusing Pinterest would include built-in AI tools.

Everything appears to be going the way of AI, so why not Pinterest?

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.

SAVE 46%: As of Jan. 5, you can get the Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus for $1,998.99, down from $3,699, at Amazon. That's a 46% discount, or $1,700.01 in savings.

Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus $1,998.99 at Amazon
$3,699 Save $1,700.01   Get Deal at Amazon

If you've ever sat through a sudden power outage wishing you had a more reliable way to keep your phone alive or make a cup of coffee, this Jackery deal is a solid find.

SEE ALSO: The 5 best portable power stations to stay charged up at home and on the go

As of Jan. 5, you can get the Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus for $1,998.99, down from $3,699, at Amazon. That's a 46% discount, or $1,700.01 in savings. This is also the best price tracked for this model, according to CamelCamelCamel.

The HomePower 3600 Plus delivers 3600W of output (with a 7200W surge peak), which is enough power to run heavy-duty appliances like sump pumps, heaters, and even dryers. The system features a 3584Wh capacity, and because it's expandable, you can technically scale it up to 43kWh if you need to power an entire household for weeks.

This specific bundle includes two 200W solar panels and an AC charging cable, giving you a completely off-grid setup right out of the box. It uses high-temperature-resistant ceramic membrane battery cells that are rated for 6,000 cycles (that's a 10-year lifespan even if you use it daily). Despite the power, it’s designed to be ultra-portable with a luggage-style handle and wheels, so you can roll it from the garage to the kitchen when the lights go out.

Multiple foreign governments are investigating Elon Musk-owned chatbot Grok for numerous reports of the chatbot generating and spreading nonconsensual, sexualized synthetic images of users.

Joining India's IT ministry in the first wave of what could turn into a global crackdown on X's AI helper, French authorities and Malaysia's Communications and Multimedia Commission issued statements that they, too, would be taking action against a platform-wide deepfake problem.

SEE ALSO: CES 2026 live updates: The latest news, surprises, strange tech, and more

At least three government ministers have reported Grok to the Paris prosecutor's office and a government online surveillance platform for allegedly proliferating illegal content, asking for the French authorities to issue an immediate removal, Politico reports. The Malaysian commission said it was investigating the "misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the X platform."

Meanwhile, X was given 72 hours to address concerns about Grok's image generation and submit an action-taken report to India's IT ministry, outlined in an order issued on Jan. 2, according to TechCrunch. The order said that failure to respond by the deadline could lead to the platform losing safe harbor protections, which prevent web hosts from facing legal retribution for user-generated content.

This comes following reports that the AI chatbot generated images of minors in sexualized attire. Musk later responded in a post on X, denying responsibility for the chatbot's responses. "Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," the xAI leader wrote. xAI team member Parsa Tajik responded to users on X saying the xAI team was looking into "further tightening" safety guardrails.

It's not an isolated incident. X users frequently report that Grok's reported guardrails are easily circumvented to reproduce nonconsensual, sexualized content at the request of other users, often in the form of "undressing" or "redressing" user-uploaded images. The rise in sexualized content on the platform has been referred to as a "mass digital undressing spree," which a Reuters investigation attributes to Grok's lax safety guardrails. Mashable's own testing found that Grok's AI image and video generator, Grok Imagine, readily produced sexual deepfakes — even of famous celebrities.

SAVE $300: The DJI Power 1000 V2 portable power station is on sale at Amazon for $399 with the on-page coupon, down from the normal price of $699. That's a 43% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Power 1000 V2 portable power station $399 at Amazon
$699 Save $300   Get Deal

Ice storms, wind storms, and epic rain are all weather events that can cause tons of inconvenience. Even if you get to stay home, these events just love to knock out power. That means we have to sit at home the cold while refusing to open the refrigerator and conserving phone battery. If you're not interested in dealing with this situation for another winter, check out this great deal on a portable power station.

As of Jan. 5, the DJI Power 1000 V2 portable power station is on sale at Amazon for $399 with the on-page coupon, marked down from the normal price of $699. That's a 43% discount that takes a massive $300 off the usual price.

The DJI Power 1000 V2 is an updated version of the original Power 1000, which offers about half the power of the DJI Power 2000. DJI made upgrades to the recharging time and added more outlets compared to the original version.

The Power 1000 V2 comes with 1,024Wh of battery capacity with a stable power output of 2,600W. It weighs in at about 31 pounds, and it comes with plenty of charging ports. You get four AC ports, two USB-A, two 140W USB-C, and two SDC ports.

SEE ALSO: Get ready for the big chill with the Bluetti Pioneer Na(Sodium) portable power station while it's $500 off

In real-life scenarios, 1,024Wh of battery capacity looks like recharging a phone about 57 times or keeping the WiFi router online for about 77 hours. If you're dealing with a power outage and you just loaded up during a major Costco run, you can keep the refrigerator running about 20 hours with the DJI Power 1000 V2.

DJI upped the recharging power with the second version of the Power 1000 and now you'll be able to get a full charge in about 56 minutes if you plug it into the wall. If you don't have an hour to spare, just 37 minutes will get you up to 80% power.

Before the next power outage hits, equip you home with the DJI Power 1000 V2 while it's on sale for $399. Just be sure to take advantage of the on-page coupon to score this sale price. Not only is it handy for power outages, it's perfect for off-grid jobsites, camping, and content creation journeys.

Gone are the days of buying two separate audio devices to listen to music on the go. New audio brand TDM — short for Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter — just debuted the world's "first and only" headphones that can twist into a portable speaker in a matter of seconds.

Announced at CES 2026 on Monday, the TDM Neo Hybrid headphones feature a modular design that instantly transforms them from personal over-ear headphones into a compact Bluetooth speaker with a twist. No setup or extra parts necessary. So, when you want to share a song with others, you can simply flick your wrist to convert your solo listening experience into a group jam session.

"With Neo, we want to empower people to live for the now, giving traditional headphone users the freedom to take what they’re listening to and share it through speakers at any given moment,” said David Brailsford, co-founder of TDM."

Credit: TDM

Beyond the groundbreaking twistability feature, these headphones also include four independently tuned 40mm speaker drivers (two inward and two outward), dual integrated amplifiers for a detailed sound profile, and impressive volume for a speaker that fits in the palm of your hand. As headphones, TDM says they'll last an astounding 200 hours before needing a recharge. As a speaker, you'll need to recharge in about 10 hours. The battery system is also removable, which means you can replace it to extend the life of your Neo headphones and keep listening for years.

Don't care to share your tunes on any given day? You can customize what happens when you twist the TDM Neo. Auto mode will seamlessly switch the audio from the headphone drivers to the speaker drivers when you twist, but you can also set it to pause, power down, or remain inactive on twist.

Tech specs:

• Bluetooth 6 multipoint pairing

• Built-in microphone

• 4 independently tuned speaker drivers

• Dual integrated amplifiers

• 200+ hour battery life in headphones mode

• 10+ hour battery life in speaker mode

• USB-C fast charging (get 8 hours in just 5 minutes)

• Replaceable battery module

• Mode customization on twist

• Adjustable headband

• Removable ear cushions

• Auto power-off

• Overcharge and thermal protection

• Weighs less than 350g

How to order the TDM Neo Hybrid headphones

The Neo Hybrid headphones will be available for pre-order on Kickstarter later this month for $249 in both black and white colorways. If you want to be in the know and get an exclusive discount, head over to the TDM website and sign up for updates with your email address.

Opens in a new window Credit: TDM TDM Neo Hybrid headphones $249
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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.

SAVE 50%: As of Jan. 5, you can get the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 for $398.99, down from $799, at Amazon. That's a 50% discount and $400.01 savings.

Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 $398.99 at Amazon
$799 Save $400.01   Get Deal at Amazon

Whether you’re planning off-grid camping trips or just want to be the only person on the block with a working fridge during a summer blackout, there's no doubt that having a reliable power station is a good investment.

SEE ALSO: The 5 best portable power stations to stay charged up at home and on the go

As of Jan. 5, you can get the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 for $398.99, down from $799, at Amazon. That's a 50% discount and $400.01 savings.

The v2 model features a 1,070Wh LiFePO4 battery, which is rated for 4,000 charge cycles. In plain English, that means you can use it daily for over a decade before the battery even starts to show its age. It’s also 18 percent smaller and lighter than the previous version, weighing in at just 23.8 pounds, so you won't throw out your back lugging it from the car to the campsite.

You'll also get a 1,500W AC output with a 3,000W surge peak (plenty of power to run a full-sized fridge, a coffee maker, or even a portable AC unit). If the battery does run dry, you can juice it back from 0 to 100 percent in just one hour using the "Emergency Super Charge" mode in the Jackery app.

If you identify as straight but are open to queer experiences, you're not alone. You may be called "heteroflexible," a portmanteau that signals being "mostly straight" with a flexibility towards same-sex attraction. 

And according to Feeld, "heteroflexible" is the fastest-growing sexuality on the hookup app — 193 percent in 2025. Switching between heteroflexible and straight is one of the most common sexuality shifts, the app stated in its Feeld Raw 2025 report, with millennials making up almost two-thirds of total heteroflexible members (65 percent), and Gen Z at 18 percent.

What does heteroflexibility mean?

There's no objective definition of heteroflexibility. In fact, it hasn't yet been used in the scientific study of the psychology of sexual orientation, said Pavel S. Blagov, Ph.D, professor of psychology at Whitman College.

SEE ALSO: What does WLW mean? The term is all over TikTok.

One of the earliest cited writings on the term, by then-professor of sociology at Yale University Laurie Essig, was published by Salon in 2000. Essig, now a professor at Middlebury College, defined heteroflexibility as when someone "has or intends to have a primarily heterosexual lifestyle, with a primary sexual and emotional attachment to someone of the opposite sex." But, as Essig continued, "that person remains open to sexual encounters and even relationships with persons of the same sex."

As much as 15 percent of the American population may identify as heteroflexible, according to a 2019 study. 

What's the origin of the term "heteroflexibility"?

The exact genesis of the term "heteroflexible" is unknown, but it's been used as early as the 1990s. In the 1997 humor glossary of LGBTQ slang When Drag is Not a Car Race, heteroflexibility is defined as "bisexual, or at least open to sexual experimentation."

Heteroflexible appeared to pick up steam on college campuses in the early 2000s, as displayed in Essig's Salon article. A 2002 dispatch from The Buffalo News declared heteroflexbile the "hot term being bandied about on campus," and defined it as "the condition of being not fully bisexual but open to adventure."

How is heteroflexibility used today?

Today, people seem to use the term differently, said Blagov, and its use is being studied by scholars in gender studies, sociology, and public health. 

"The concept seems to have different meanings across individuals and in different corners of popular culture," he continued. There are several facets of sexual orientation that one may use heteroflexibility to refer to: someone's identity, their sexual desires, their sexual behavior, or something else, or a combination of these. 

Based on various sources online, Blagov senses that someone who describes themselves as heteroflexible may be trying to convey one or more of these concepts: "Some degree of attraction to the same sex; some degree of interest in same-sex sexual behavior; a positive attitude toward diversity in sexual orientation; an open mind about different identities; that they owe some allegiance to a heterosexual or straight identity; and that they do not identify as bisexual or homosexual." 

He also cited sociologist Héctor Carrillo and contributor Amanda Hoffman, who researched sexualities of American men in an aptly titled study, Straight with a pinch of bi. On one hand, Carrillo and Hoffman wrote, terms like heteroflexibility and "bi-curious" represent a renewed sense of sexual identity among young straight Americans with same-sex desire — and possibly a search for public recognition and societal acceptance. 

At the same time, Carrillo argued, by not adopting a queer identity like bisexual, heteroflexible people seek to remain in the "heterosexual category." They want an indication that same-sex desire and behavior "are not altogether incompatible with heterosexuality."

Blagov reiterated that heteroflexibility isn't currently an established concept in the scientific study of psychology. "It is not referring to how a person's mind works or any objectively defined way in which people differ," he said. At least currently, it doesn't indicate a proven difference among people. Rather, it's a label people have started using to describe themselves and others. 

The use of heteroflexible also likely differs across individuals and groups, and — like our definition of so many other words — may change over time.

Is heteroflexibility just bisexuality?

Heteroflexibility, Essig wrote, "is a rejection of bisexuality since the inevitable question that comes up in bisexuality is one of preference, and the preference of the heteroflexible is quite clear."

At first, Essig said she was pissed at the term. "I resented the fact that they [young people] would root their marginal sexual practices in the safety of heterosexuality," she said. Then, after reflecting, she embraced it because in her view, it could bring an end to heterosexuality's dominance. In the future, Essig mused, everyone would be flexible.

Other scholars, however, don't have such a rosy view of the term. In a 2009 article about queer representation in the media, media and communications professor Lisa Blackman wrote that "heteroflexible" serves to expand the boundaries of the "heterosexual" label rather than to normalize queer identities. Flexibility is merely a "temporary interruption" of heterosexual desire, a "break from the routine."

Blackman goes on to say that the idea of flexibility serves to support the agency of heterosexual people, but not queer people. Queer attraction, at least in media at the time of Blackman's writing, was seen as something novel for straight people (primarily women) to experience. She cites two examples — Samantha Jones in Sex and the City and Jessica in Kissing Jessica Stein — as characters who flirted with homosexuality, but only temporarily.

Does "heteroflexibility" describe queer desire in terms of...straightness? In Blackman's sense, yes, said Andrew Cheng, assistant professor in the department of linguistics at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (previously a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Linguistics at Simon Fraser University). 

While this argument is an academic look into film and television at the time, other queer people have decried the term for similar reasons. Writer Charlie Williams said in Affinity Magazine that the word heteroflexible erases bi identities, saying both heteroflexible and the opposite, homoflexible, are just "fancy words" for bisexual. Another writer, Kravitz M., called for people who feel attraction to multiple genders to question why they don't call themselves bi, and claimed it might be because of internalized biphobia.

For some, any flexibility is a deviation from the heterosexual standard and will be judged negatively, particularly for men who experience bi erasure, according to Dr. Luke Brunning, a lecturer in applied ethics at the University of Leeds and co-director of the Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships. "For others, perhaps those firmly within the queer community, heteroflexibility might be viewed with suspicion, as indicative of a reticence to be open about someone's 'true' bisexuality, for example, or as evidence of internalized homophobia."

It's important to remember, though, that the meanings and uses of identity labels change quickly — especially in the internet age — and that identities are dependent on local communities, said Cheng. 

"The rise in heteroflexibility as an identification among, say, rural men in the Midwest today, might be very different from how it was used by city-dwelling college students in the nineties," he continued.

Further, without much psychological research, it's hard to speculate why someone may identify as heteroflexible (or bi-curious or "mostly straight") instead of a queer identity, said Blagov. 

For some people, the term "heteroflexible" accurately describes how they experience attraction or behave, said Brunning, who provided insights for Feeld. (Brunning was also interviewed by Mashable in 2020 for his book on non-monogamy). For others, he continued, it might be a "promise-to-self," something they want to look into further or explore.

All this to say, there's no "correct" use of heteroflexible. It may not be its own sexual orientation — it's been long known that sexual attraction can fall somewhere between hetero and homosexual — but anyone is free to identify as such. Sexuality, like language itself, can be flexible.

This article was originally published in 2022 and republished in 2026 with new information.