Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,400 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc’s Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SOUNDPEATS has spent the past 16 years churning out wireless earbuds at a pace that would make most budget brands tap out, and the new Air6 HS aims squarely at a segment that usually disappoints. Most earbuds under $50 are the kind of last-minute “grab something at Wawa before the road trip” purchase; good enough to survive a commute, or to hand off to the kid who just launched your Apple AirPods out the car window. The Air6 HS tries to flip that script, combining all-day comfort, extended battery life, and support for hi-res and spatial audio at a price below $40.

All-Day Wearing Comfort

With so many wireless earbud options available, choosing the right pair comes down to a few core factors that matter regardless of price.

Comfort and fit should come first. If an earbud does not sit securely or becomes uncomfortable over time, it will not get much use. Sound quality follows, along with battery life, call performance, and connection stability. Features like spatial audio or advanced codecs can add value, but they are secondary to the basics that determine how the earbuds perform day to day.

With that in mind, SOUNDPEATS says the Air6 HS was developed using ergonomic data from more than 10,000 ear canal samples. Each earbud weighs just 4 grams, which helps reduce pressure during longer listening sessions.

The semi in-ear design splits the difference between traditional in-ear tips and open ear designs. It sits more securely than open earbuds and offers a more consistent seal, which can improve perceived sound quality and reduce how much audio leaks out in quieter environments like an office. At the same time, it avoids the plugged feeling that some listeners experience with fully sealed in-ear tips.

Driver Design & Tuning 

On the inside, the Air6 HS uses a 13mm dynamic driver with a PU biological composite diaphragm and a triple magnetic circuit. That combination is intended to deliver a balanced presentation with a focus on natural vocals, rather than pushing any one part of the frequency range too far forward.

That matters, because a lot of affordable earbuds tend to lean on boosted bass or elevated treble to create the impression of detail or impact. It can sound exciting at first, but it often becomes fatiguing over time. The approach here appears more restrained, aiming for a sound that holds up over longer listening sessions without the sharp edges that can creep into budget tuning.

For those who want to adjust things further, the SOUNDPEATS app on Android and iOS includes Dynamic EQ settings that allow some control over bass and overall tonal balance.

Hi-Res Audio Support and Spatial Audio

The Air6 HS carries Hi-Res Audio certification and supports LDAC for Android devices, allowing higher bitrate wireless playback without moving away from its lightweight, semi in ear design.

It supports SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs, covering the most common use cases, but there is no support for aptX HD or aptX Lossless. For most users, that will not be a deal breaker, but it is worth noting for those already invested in Qualcomm based devices.

Spatial audio support is also included, adding a wider sense of space for movies and streaming content, rather than focusing strictly on music playback.

Battery Life That Keeps Up with Daily Use

The Air6 HS is rated for up to 9 hours of listening on a single charge, with the charging case extending total playback to around 45 hours. When time is limited, a quick 10 minute charge can provide up to 3 hours of playback, which is useful for getting through a commute or a few calls without needing a full recharge.

Bluetooth Connectivity, Call Quality, and Water Resistance

The Air6 HS incorporates Bluetooth 6.0 for stable, efficient wireless performance, including Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity.  This enables simultaneous pairing with two devices, allowing users to move between phone calls and laptop audio without needing to manually reconnect; a convenient feature for multitaskers and on-the-go commuters who don’t want to annoy the boss.

The Air6 HS uses a four microphone array with dual mic ENC processing to improve call clarity. That is not something you usually see at this price, and it should help voices come through more clearly in calls and virtual meetings, even in less than ideal environments.

SOUNDPEATS also gives the Air6 HS an IPX5 water-resistance rating, which is enough for sweat and light rain during workouts or daily use. That makes them a reasonable option for the gym, but they are not designed for full water exposure. Dropping them in a pool or the ocean is still a quick way to end the conversation.

Comparison

The Bottom Line 

The Air6 HS stands out by delivering a balanced feature set at a price where most earbuds cut corners. You get a large driver, LDAC support, a comfortable semi in-ear fit, and strong battery life for under $40, which is not common.

There are tradeoffs. The semi in-ear design means no active noise cancellation, and features like Dolby Atmos, head tracking, or advanced gaming modes are not part of the package.

This is aimed at everyday listeners who want something comfortable, reliable, and better than the usual budget options. It is not trying to replace higher end models, but it does offer a more complete experience than most wireless earbuds in this price range.

Price & Availability

The SOUNDPEATS Air6 HS are available now for $39.99 at Amazon.

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Cramming for finals is bad enough without the platform you use to do your schoolwork suddenly shutting down. Unfortunately for countless students across the US, that’s exactly what they faced on Thursday after Canvas went into “maintenance mode” following a ransomware attack on education tech firm Instructure. Hackers using the name ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach, and experts say the chaos they caused shows how far these actors will go to extort their victims.

Did you know that Google Chrome includes an automatic download of the Gemini Nano AI model? If not, you wouldn’t be alone. People who use Google’s wildly popular browser realized this week that Gemini Nano has been taking up 4 GB of space on their desktops since 2024, sparking annoyance and concerns over privacy. Fortunately, you can disable the AI model—but not without losing some helpful security features. Obviously, you can also just download a different browser for free.

Researchers this week revealed that thousands of vibe coded apps were left exposed on the open internet, revealing sensitive corporate and personal data. The security failings are a reminder: Just because you can vibe code something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

The Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed Google in an attempt to obtain the location data and account activity of a Canadian man who criticized US immigration enforcement tactics following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis early this year. The American Civil Liberties Union this week filed a complaint against DHS on behalf of the man, who has not visited the US in more than 10 years.

Scammers, low-level hackers, and other cybercriminals have joined the ranks of humanity yearning to be free of AI slop, according to new research. Meta, meanwhile, is sprucing up its age-verification tech after a study found that kids are tricking online age checks using simple techniques—including one child hero who circumvented online age verification by drawing on a fake mustache. Finally, we detailed Russia’s effort to create a local competitor to Starlink satellite internet service—with all the privacy and security concerns that entails.

And there’s more. Each week, we round up the security and privacy news we didn’t cover in depth ourselves. Click the headlines to read the full stories. And stay safe out there.

Most people hope that the 200-pound robot with blades in their backyard cannot be easily hacked. Unfortunately for the owners of Yarbo, a $5,000 lawn mower robot that can also work as a leaf blower, snowblower, and edger, that was not the case. The Verge reports that a security researcher found numerous vulnerabilities in the lawn bots that could allow hackers to remotely take over the machines (including their camera feeds,) as well as extract owners’ email addresses, Wi-Fi passwords, and home locations.

After a Yarbo spokesperson told The Verge that the robots’ “diagnostic environment is not publicly accessible,” the reporter and researcher demonstrated the security flaws and their potential consequences by nearly running over the reporter with a hijacked robot. The company has since reported that they are developing a fix to at least one of the flaws the researcher identified.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has pulled support for end-to-end encrypted messages on Instagram, backtracking on its plans to protect people’s privacy by providing messaging the company could not snoop on. The company stopped offering encryption on Instagram on May 8, making it easier than before for the firm to technically access DMs.

After spending years building out the encryption systems needed to secure its chat apps, Meta said in 2023 that it had rolled out default encryption for Messenger. It also said it was introducing an opt-in version for Instagram, which it had planned would eventually become the default setting. However, that day never arrived with Meta deciding in March this year that not enough people had opted-in and it would remove the option to encrypt Instagram chats. The U-turn has infuriated privacy and security experts who fear the rollback could damage end-to-end encryption efforts around the world.

The Trump administration unveiled a new counterterrorism strategy, which President Donald Trump describes as a “return to common sense and Peace through Strength” in a foreword included in the document. The three biggest types of terror groups, according to the document, are cartels, Islamist terror groups, and “violent left wing extremists,” which the memo says includes anarchists and anti-fascists and have ideologies that are “anti-American” and “radically pro-transgender.”

The memo promises, “We will use all the tools constitutionally available to us to map them at home, identify their membership, map their ties to international organizations like Antifa, and use law enforcement tools to cripple them operationally before they can maim or kill the innocent.”

When to watch West Ham vs. Arsenal

• Sunday, May 10, at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT).

Where to watch

• West Ham vs. Arsenal will air in the US on USA Network.

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Watch the Premier League on USA Network from $46 a month

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Two teams, both in need of a win for very different reasons, meet on Sunday in this tantalizing all-London match-up, as relegation-threatened West Ham hosts table-topping Arsenal in the English Premier League. 

Man City’s slip-up against Everton on Monday handed the advantage to the Gunners in the title race. An impressive double remains in the cards for Arsenal after it reached the UEFA Champions League final in midweek with a 2-1 aggregate win over Atlético Madrid.

West Ham, meanwhile, took a step closer to the trapdoor last weekend, with its demoralizing 3-0 defeat away at Brentford. That was compounded by relegation rival Tottenham picking up an unexpected win against Aston Villa, pushing the Hammers back into the drop zone. 

West Ham takes on Arsenal on Sunday, May 10, at the London Stadium, with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. BST. That makes it an 11:30 a.m. ET or 8:30 a.m. PT start in the US and Canada, and a 1:30 a.m. AEST kickoff in Australia in the early hours of Monday morning. 

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How to watch West Ham vs. Arsenal in the US without cable

Sunday’s crucial clash at the London Stadium will be broadcast on USA Network, which you can access with a live TV streaming service like Sling TV, or a pricier option such as YouTube TV or DirecTV’s MySports package. 

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The Sling TV Blue plan comes with USA Network, making it a great option for those who want to watch Premier League action. It costs $46 a month and includes more than 40 channels, including sports channels ESPN and FS1. Read our Sling TV review.

How to watch the Premier League 2025-26 with a VPN

If you’re traveling abroad and want to keep up with Premier League action while away from home, a VPN can help enhance your privacy and security when streaming.

It encrypts your traffic and prevents your internet service provider from throttling your speeds, and can also be helpful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks while traveling, adding an extra layer of protection for your devices and logins. VPNs are legal in many countries, including the US and Canada, and can be used for legitimate purposes such as improving online privacy and security. 

However, some streaming services may have policies that restrict VPN use to access region-specific content. If you’re considering a VPN for streaming, check the platform’s terms of service to ensure compliance.

If you choose to use a VPN, follow the provider’s installation instructions to ensure you’re connected securely and in compliance with applicable laws and service agreements. Some streaming platforms may block access when a VPN is detected, so verify whether your streaming subscription allows VPN use.

Price $78 for two yearsLatest Tests No DNS leaks detected, 18% speed loss in 2025 testsJurisdiction British Virgin IslandsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countries

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ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $120 a year for its most popular plan (Advanced), but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $90, you’ll get three months free. That’s the equivalent of $6 a month.

Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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Livestream West Ham vs. Arsenal in the UK 

This Sunday afternoon clash is exclusive to Sky Sports and will be shown on its Sky Sports Main Event channel. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the game via its Sky Go app. Cord-cutters will want to set up a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the game. 

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Sky’s standalone streaming service Now offers access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get a day of access for £15 or sign up to a monthly plan from £35 a month right now.

Livestream West Ham vs. Arsenal in Canada 

If you want to livestream English Premier League games in Canada this season, you’ll need to subscribe to Fubo. The service has secured exclusive rights to the Premier League and is broadcasting all 380 matches live. 

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Fubo is the go-to destination for Canadians looking to watch the EPL, with exclusive streaming rights to every match. It currently costs CA$27 for the first month, then CA$31.50 per month thereafter.

Livestream West Ham vs. Arsenal in Australia 

Livestreaming rights for the EPL are now with Stan Sport, which is showing all 380 matches live, including this game.

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Stan Sport will set you back AU$20 a month (on top of a Stan subscription, which starts at AU$12). It’s also worth noting that the streaming service is currently offering a seven-day free trial.

A subscription will also give you access to Premier League, Champions League and Europa League action, as well as international rugby and Formula E.

Your iPhone 14 won’t charge — and the cause is almost always one of four things: a damaged or non-certified cable, debris packed into the Lightning port, a software glitch stopping the charging process, or a battery that needs replacing. All of these are diagnosable at home. This guide walks through each fix in the order most likely to solve the problem first, so you’re not replacing hardware you don’t need to replace.

These steps apply to iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Quick Take: Start with the cable and port — the majority of iPhone 14 charging failures trace back to a faulty cable, a dirty port, or a low-wattage power source. Clean the port with a dry toothbrush before assuming anything is broken. If the hardware checks out, a force restart fixes most software-related charging blocks. If your phone charges fine but stops at 80%, that is Optimized Battery Charging doing its job — not a fault.

Before You Start: Rule Out These Two Things

Two scenarios look like charging failures but are not faults at all.

The first is Optimized Battery Charging. If your iPhone 14 consistently stops charging at around 80% overnight, that is a deliberate iOS feature — not a glitch. Apple’s Optimized Battery Charging holds the charge at 80% and finishes charging to 100% just before your typical wake-up time, based on your learned daily routine. It is designed to reduce battery aging. If you want to verify this is happening, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging and check whether the feature is toggled on. It is enabled by default.

The second is a deeply drained battery. If the screen shows nothing at all when you plug in, that does not mean charging has failed. A battery at absolute zero charge may take 5–15 minutes before showing any indicator on screen. Give it at least 15 minutes before drawing any conclusions.

Step 1: Check the Cable, Adapter, and Power Source

This is where roughly half of all charging problems start. Inspect the Lightning cable for fraying near either end — the strain relief (the plastic collar where the cable meets the connector) is the most common failure point. A cable that looks intact from the outside can have broken internal wires from repeated bending. If you have another cable available, swap it in and test.

If you see the alert “This accessory is not certified” or “may not be supported” when you plug in, your cable either lacks MFi certification (Made for iPhone, Apple’s licensing standard for accessories) or the cable’s internal chip has failed. Non-certified cables trigger this alert by design and will often charge intermittently or not at all. Replace the cable with an Apple original or an MFi-certified third-party cable before trying anything else.

For the power source: plug directly into a wall outlet using an Apple or MFi-certified USB power adapter. USB ports on computers, keyboards, and older USB hubs frequently deliver too little current to reliably charge an iPhone 14. Apple’s official guidance specifies using a wall power outlet and checking for firm connections at every point in the chain — cable to phone, cable to adapter, adapter to wall.

Step 2: Clean the Lightning Port

Compacted lint and debris inside the Lightning port is one of the most underestimated causes of iPhone charging problems, and it is almost always invisible until you look closely with a light. Over time — particularly if you carry your phone in a pocket or bag — fibers accumulate at the back of the port and physically prevent the cable connector from seating fully. The cable appears to plug in, but the electrical contact is poor or absent.

Power off the iPhone before cleaning. Then, using a flashlight, inspect the interior of the port. If you see compacted gray or brown material at the back, clean it out as follows, per iFixit’s port cleaning guide:

1. Insert the head of a dry, soft-bristled toothbrush into the port.
2. Rotate the brush gently in small circles to break up compacted debris.
3. Use a can of compressed air (dust blower) to blow loosened debris out — hold the can upright to avoid propellant spray.
4. Repeat the brush pass if debris remains.
5. Plug in the cable and check for the charging icon.

Do not use metal tools — toothpicks, pins, or SIM ejectors — inside the port. The Lightning pins are fragile, and a single bent pin means a port replacement. A dry toothbrush removes the vast majority of debris without any risk of damage.

Step 3: Force Restart the iPhone

A software crash or a frozen charging process can make a working charger appear to do nothing. A force restart clears this state without deleting any data and takes about 20 seconds.

1. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
2. Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
3. Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears — then release.

Keep the phone plugged into the charger while you do this. When the Apple logo appears, release the Side button and allow the phone to finish booting. Once it has restarted, check whether the charging icon appears in the status bar.

One common mistake: releasing the Side button when the “slide to power off” screen appears. That is not the restart — keep holding through it. The Apple logo comes after, and the full sequence can take up to 20 seconds.

Step 4: Update iOS

iOS bugs occasionally interfere with charging behavior, and some have been resolved in point releases. If you have been delaying an update, this is a good reason to install it. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install any available update. You do not need a full charge to initiate an update — connect to Wi-Fi, plug in, and let it run.

If your phone cannot charge enough to update over the air, you can initiate a software update through Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows) by connecting via Lightning cable. This method does not require a minimum battery level and will attempt to update rather than erase.

Step 5: Check Battery Health

A severely degraded battery can cause unpredictable charging behavior — the iPhone may refuse to charge past a certain point, charge very slowly, or drop charge percentage immediately after unplugging. To check battery health on iPhone 14: go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging.

The “Maximum Capacity” figure shows how much charge your battery holds relative to when it was new. Apple’s battery health guidance indicates that a battery at 80% or below warrants replacement. At that level, the phone will also begin displaying a message recommending service. A degraded battery is not a charging fault per se — the charger is doing its job — but the battery cannot accept and hold a full charge anymore, which reads like a charging problem to the user.

If the reading is above 80% and all other steps have been completed, the battery itself is not the cause of your charging issue.

Step 6: Try Wireless Charging as a Diagnostic

If you have a Qi-compatible wireless charger or a MagSafe charger available, try charging wirelessly. The iPhone 14 supports Qi wireless charging at up to 7.5W and MagSafe at up to 15W. If the phone charges wirelessly but not via Lightning cable, you have isolated the problem to the Lightning port or the cable — not the battery or software.

A few things to check if wireless charging also fails: the phone must be centered over the charging coil on the pad, as misalignment breaks the connection. A thick case, metal case, or a case with a magnetic wallet attachment can interfere with power transfer — remove the case and retry. If the iPhone is hot (warm to the touch), iOS will reduce or pause charging until the device cools. Move it away from direct heat or sunlight and wait a few minutes before placing it on the pad again.

When to Stop DIY and Book a Repair

If you have worked through all six steps and the iPhone 14 still won’t charge, the problem is almost certainly hardware — a damaged Lightning port, a failed charging IC (the internal chip that manages charging), or a battery that is too degraded to accept current. None of these are DIY-fixable without specialized tools and components.

Your options at this point:

• Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider: Apple’s service and repair page lets you book a Genius Bar appointment or mail-in repair. Out-of-warranty battery replacement for iPhone 14 is listed at $99 (USD) through Apple — verify current pricing when booking, as this can change. If the port is damaged, Apple will assess whether it is repairable or requires a device replacement.
• Independent repair shop: A legitimate alternative for port replacement and battery swaps at lower cost. Battery replacement at third-party shops typically runs less than Apple’s rate. Using an independent shop will not affect an already-expired warranty, but it will void any remaining warranty coverage. Ask whether the shop uses OEM-equivalent batteries and whether they provide a warranty on the repair itself.
• AppleCare+: If you have an active AppleCare+ plan, battery service is covered at no additional cost when battery health is below 80%. Check your coverage status at Settings > General > VPN & Device Management or at appleid.apple.com before booking a paid repair.

One scenario that is not worth attempting DIY: liquid damage to the port. If the iPhone was exposed to water and corrosion has formed inside the Lightning port, forcing a cable in risks shorting internal contacts. Let a technician assess and clean it before attempting to charge.

Key Takeaways

• Most iPhone 14 charging failures are caused by a faulty cable, debris in the Lightning port, or a low-power source — fix these before assuming the battery or hardware is at fault.
• Stopping at 80% is Optimized Battery Charging working correctly, not a malfunction. Check Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging to confirm and disable it if needed.
• A force restart with the cable plugged in clears software-related charging blocks in seconds, with no data loss.
• If wired charging fails but wireless works, the fault is isolated to the Lightning port or cable — not the battery.
• If all DIY steps fail, book a repair through Apple or an authorized provider rather than continuing to troubleshoot. Hardware faults do not resolve themselves and can worsen with repeated charging attempts on a damaged port.

Frequently Asked Questions

When mobile gamers rely solely on touchscreens, they face numerous challenges. Swipes miss their target at the worst possible times, fingers slip during frantic sequences, and sophisticated games require more dexterity than a flat glass surface can provide. The Razer Kishi V3, priced at $74.99 after clipping the on-page coupon (was $100), is a basic solution that clamps onto your phone and provides tactile controls designed for serious play.

Anyone who picks up the controller immediately notices how natural it feels in their hands. Most USB-C phones have larger ergonomic grips around the sides, including latest iPhone models and popular Android handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel series. The extendable bridge adjusts to hold a phone case in place, saving you from having to remove protection each time. Without a phone, the entire system weighs just over seven ounces, making it light enough for long periods while yet sturdy enough to avoid seeming flimsy.

Razer Kishi V3 Gaming Controller for iPhone 15, 16, 17 Series & Android: Full Sized TMR Thumbsticks…

• FULL SIZED CONTROLLER FORM FACTOR — Console performance meets mobile convenience for iPhone* and Android; play for extended periods in complete…
• FULL SIZED TMR THUMBSTICKS — Perfect your aim with high-precision, anti-drift thumbsticks that are superior to Hall Effect designs
• DUAL MOUSE CLICK BACK BUTTONS — Enjoy the same ultra-responsive actuation found in our top gaming mice with 2 back buttons built into the…

Full-sized thumbsticks are positioned just where thumbs expect them, and TMR technology ensures smooth, accurate movement without the gradual drift that plagues many controllers over time. The action buttons have a sharp, consistent click, and the D-pad and bumpers respond promptly to each press. Two more back buttons on the underside provide rapid inputs that can be assigned whichever you want using the accompanying app. These pieces work together to give every game the same amount of control as a dedicated console pad.

Setup is simple: slide the phone into position until the USB-C connector clicks, and the controller powers up and is ready to use. Passthrough charging keeps the phone charged over extended gaming sessions, ensuring that battery life never runs out. A 3.5-millimeter audio connection allows you to connect headphones for great sound without requiring any additional adapters. On compatible devices, the connection remains connected and direct, resulting in no discernible delay between your inputs and what appears on the screen.

The free Razer Nexus app brings everything together in one place. It searches your phone for installed games, arranges them neatly, and allows you to launch them directly from the controller’s dedicated button. Inside the app, you may change the sensitivity of the sticks, remap the back buttons, and record short films of memorable moments to share later. Streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Steam Link also work perfectly, allowing you to play bigger titles from your home PC or the cloud with the same precise controls.

What a week. Beloved nature communicator David Attenborough turned 100 on Friday, and scientists named a newly discovered species of wasp in his honor. The wasp from Chile, called Attenboroughnculus tau, isn’t the first to be named after Attenborough — it joins a list of over 50 organisms bearing his name in some way, which seems about right. Also this week, NASA shared an update about its Curiosity rover, which encountered some issues during a sampling attempt on Mars, and the agency released a new batch of photos from the Artemis II mission. 

Read on on to learn more about those and other science stories we found interesting this week.

Curiosity runs into a bit of trouble

NASA’s Curiosity rover found itself in a bit of a pickle recently after drilling into some Martian rock that proved unexpectedly clingy. In an incident that was captured by Curiosity’s cameras on April 29, the rover can be seen with a slab of rock stuck on its drill bit after it attempted to collect a sample. The rock, dubbed Atacama, was about 1.5 feet wide and weighed nearly 30 pounds, according to NASA. Somehow in the 14 years the rover has been exploring Mars, this has never happened before, and vibrating the drill to shake the rock free didn’t work at first.

“When the rover retracted its arm, the entire rock lifted out of the ground, suspended by the fixed sleeve that surrounds the rotating drill bit,” NASA explains in a blog post. “Drilling has fractured or separated the upper layers of rocks in the past, but a rock has never remained attached to the drill sleeve.” After a few more attempts over the next couple of days, the team was able to get the rock loose by “tilting the drill more, rotating and vibrating the drill, and spinning the drill bit.” We can see the rock finally dropping away from Curiosity and breaking apart in images taken on May 1.

Curiosity has taken dozens of samples from the surface of Mars by drilling into rock, as shown in this image from 2024 (trypophobia warning). After drilling, the rover collects the powderized rock and analyzes it with its Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) and Chemistry & Mineralogy (CheMin) instruments to determine the composition. Now that its brief mishap has been resolved, it can get back to work.

What goes on at the bottom of an Arctic fjord

The Arctic seafloor isn’t exactly an easy place to observe, but thanks to a long-running research program at Inglefield Bredning in northwest Greenland, we’ve got a glimpse of what life is like there deep beneath the surface. As part of this effort, researchers deployed a video camera and hydrophone 260 meters deep in the fjord for a week in August 2025 to assess the seafloor environment and biodiversity. Their findings were just published in the journal PLOS One, along with some incredible photos and videos (don’t be alarmed by the eerie hue, that’s due to the red light they used underwater).

The team recorded a total of 478 different organisms, including comb jellies, arrowworms, snailfish and shrimp. In one clip, a snailfish can be seen passively riding the current to drift backward, which the researchers note was “peculiar.” Check out the highlights here. 

Podolskiy et al.

The instruments also picked up the sounds of nearby narwhals, which were present on every day of the study except one, as well as the sounds of cracking and melting icebergs and boat engine noises. The footage also shows tons of what’s known as “marine snow,” or organic debris like poop and material from dead animals and plants. It’s kind of gross to think about, but many deep-sea creatures rely on this material that falls from higher waters.

Based on the success of their observations, the researchers say their approach could be a feasible way to study these deep Arctic ecosystems. “So far, there have been few direct underwater observations in the Arctic for ecological research,” the authors wrote. “With video setups becoming accessible, more studies would be beneficial for filling this knowledge gap.” Compact, portable moorings with video recorders could be “an important tool for exploration of the Arctic seafloor,” they note.

Feast your eyes on 12,000+ photos from Artemis II

NASA

NASA this week released thousands of pictures captured during last month’s Artemis II mission around the moon. You can find them all here. In classic government website fashion, the UI kind of sucks, but it’s well worth it to click through the catalog if you’ve got some time on your hands. While their target was the moon, and there are lots of great shots of the moon both from up close and afar, there are some really striking images of Earth and the Milky Way in there too. 

Before you go, be sure to check out these stories too:

India’s internet users already rely heavily on voice notes, voice search, and multilingual messaging. Turning those habits into a scalable AI business, however, remains difficult because of the country’s linguistic complexity, mixed-language usage, and uneven monetization patterns. Wispr Flow is betting the opportunity is worth the challenge.

The Bay Area-headquartered startup, which builds AI-powered voice input software, says India is now its fastest-growing market, even though voice-based AI products remain early and fragmented in the South Asian nation. That growth has pushed Wispr Flow to expand more aggressively for Indian users, beginning with Hinglish — a hybrid mix of Hindi and English commonly spoken by locals. The startup is also planning broader multilingual voice support, a local hiring push, and, eventually, lower pricing as it looks to expand beyond white-collar users and into Indian households.

Earlier waves of voice technology in India — from digital assistants to WhatsApp voice notes — largely revolved around convenience. AI startups such as Wispr Flow are now betting that generative AI can turn those habits into a broader computing layer.

To make the product more relevant for Indian users, Wispr Flow began beta testing a Hinglish voice model earlier this year and launched on Android — India’s dominant mobile operating system — after initially debuting on Mac and Windows before expanding to iOS in 2025.

Co-founder and CEO Tanay Kothari told TechCrunch that the startup initially saw adoption in India largely among white-collar professionals such as managers and engineers, but it’s increasingly seeing broader usage patterns emerge, including among students and older users being onboarded by younger family members.

India has emerged as Wispr Flow’s second-largest market after the U.S. in terms of both users and revenue, Kothari said, with growth accelerating following the startup’s recent India-focused push. The startup has seen faster growth following the rollout of Hinglish support, benefiting from the widespread habit among Indian users of mixing Hindi and English in everyday conversations, particularly as users began expanding beyond work-focused use cases into more personal communication.

“The biggest thing is people are starting to use it more in personal apps,” Kothari said, pointing to messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and social media apps where users frequently switch between Hindi and English while speaking.

Wispr Flow, Kothari said, was growing about 60% month over month in India earlier this year, but growth accelerated to around 100% following its recent India launch campaign. The startup last month rolled out a broader marketing push in the country, including a launch video from Kothari and offline campaigns in Bengaluru aimed at introducing the product to more mainstream users.

Kothari told TechCrunch that Wispr Flow plans to expand its multilingual voice support over the next 12 months, allowing users to switch between English and other Indian languages beyond Hindi while speaking. In December, the startup introduced India-specific pricing at ₹320 (around $3.4) per month for annual plans, significantly lower than its standard $12 monthly pricing globally.

The startup eventually wants to bring costs down even further — potentially to as low as ₹10–20 (around 10–20 cents) per month — as it looks to expand beyond white-collar and urban users.

“I want every single person in the country to be able to use Wispr Flow, and that’s what we’re really building for,” Kothari said. “That’s going to happen slowly and steadily.”

Earlier this year, Wispr Flow hired Nimisha Mehta to lead its India operations as it looks to expand its local presence. Kothari told TechCrunch the startup plans to grow to around 30 employees in India over the next year, building out consumer growth, partnerships, and enterprise teams alongside existing engineering and support functions. The startup currently has about 60 employees globally.

India’s voice AI challenge

Wispr Flow is not alone in viewing India as a key market for voice-based AI products. Companies including ElevenLabs have highlighted India as an important growth market for some time. Similarly, local startups such as Gnani.ai, Smallest AI, and Bolna have continued attracting investor interest as voice-based AI tools gain wider adoption across consumer and business use cases.

Nevertheless, turning voice AI into a mainstream consumer product in India remains challenging despite growing interest from startups and investors.

“India is the ultimate stress test for voice AI,” Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research, told TechCrunch, adding that “linguistic, accent, and contextual friction” continue to slow wider adoption.

Data shared with TechCrunch from Sensor Tower shows Wispr Flow was downloaded more than 2.5 million times globally between October 2025 and April 2026, with India accounting for 14% of installs during the period, making India its second-largest market by downloads (after, as mentioned, the U.S.). India, however, contributed only around 2% of Wispr Flow’s in-app purchase revenue during the same period, according to Sensor Tower. However, the startup remains largely desktop-driven globally.

Wispr Flow’s usage in India, Kothari said, is currently split roughly 50:50 between desktop and mobile, compared with an 80:20 desktop-heavy mix in the U.S.

Kothari said Wispr Flow sees strong repeat usage among its users, claiming roughly 70% retention after 12 months globally and in India. Moreover, the startup currently employs two full-time linguistics PhDs as it continues refining multilingual voice models and expanding support for additional Indian language combinations.