Compare Our Picks

Others We Tested

Photograph: Kat Merck

Els Pet Orbitie for $290: This is one of the least expensive automatic litter boxes, but it functions much like the more expensive models, with an internal 65-liter-capacity orb that rotates and catches clumps with a plastic grate, depositing them into a bag-lined box below. The opening is a generous 12 by 12 inches—plenty big enough for my two 7-year-old cats, who took to it almost immediately despite never having seen anything but a traditional litter box. The accompanying Orbitie app doesn’t offer an extensive amount of information; it tells the user the volume of litter and what step of the cleaning phase the box is currently in, as well as how many times the box has been used and at what times. The first test unit I received was faulty—it sent multiple phantom alerts to the app, letting me know it had cleaned itself as many as 36 times a day, which I knew for a fact was not true. The replacement unit, however, works just as intended, though the bin beneath fills up fast (about every other day with my two cats), and it occasionally needs to be disassembled and cleaned, as tiny pieces of cat litter have a tendency to get in the gears beneath the orb (and make a loud grinding noise). However, this isn’t an unusual occurrence even with pricier boxes. Online reviews panned an earlier version of this box, but Orbitie says this is an improved version. Thankfully, like the bigger brands, Orbitie also offers a 90-day money-back guarantee if you’re on the fence. —Kat Merck

Photograph: Molly Higgins

FurryTail Automatic Litter Box Pro for $400: I was surprised by how quickly and easily my cats took to this device—even my larger cat, who hates change, started using it right away. Setup was super easy, and the box comes with a year’s supply of waste bag liners, an additional grate attachment, and a mat to reduce litter tracking. Similar to many models, the spherical orb rotates, sifting dirty litter into a waste bag, which, on this model, is on top of the machine rather than below. The box has both a manual display and buttons on the machine, as well as an app to adjust settings. I’d include this model in our top picks because of how easy it was to set up and use, as well as how much my cats liked it, but the app was basically useless. Through the app, you can adjust settings like timed cleanings and do-not-disturb modes, manually clean, and monitor waste levels. However, the app never tracked usage or weight, and for the majority of the time, didn’t clean when I manually instructed it to. The sensors would sense ghost cats and refuse to clean, with the device not automatically cycling for the majority of the day (which sort of defeats the purpose). This automatic box has tons of potential, but I can’t fully recommend it until the kinks (especially in the app) are ironed out.

Courtesy of Smarty Pear

Casa Leo Leo’s Loo Too Automatic Litter Box for $700: This automatic litter box was a top pick for a long time, but it’s pricey and a bit cramped for some cats. We still like it, but think the options above are better for most people (and cats). There are four weight sensors inside the barrel to detect when a cat is still inside (it needs just 1 pound of weight to detect your cat), an anti-pinch sensor (for fingers and paws), and a radar system that detects when anyone, feline or human, is near it. For extra cleanliness, it also uses ultraviolet light for extra sanitation. The Smarty Pear app (on iOS and Android) alerts you when the drawer is full (about once a week), records the times your cat uses it and the cat’s weight, and you can set it to automatically clean six seconds to 20 minutes after your cat uses it. You can start a cleaning session manually from the app or use your voice if you connect the box to Alexa or Google Assistant. Former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano’s biggest struggle using the Loo Too was pouring new litter into it, which can be tricky because of the small entry hole. The barrel is also pretty cramped, especially for her 12-pound cat.

Photograph: Simon Hill

PetSafe ScoopFree SmartSpin Self-Cleaning Litter Box for $370: This basic automatic litter box is around half the price but has a similar design to more expensive models. This futuristic-looking pod on legs has a rubbery bottom, a weight detector that sets off the cleaning cycle a few minutes after your cat has done its business, and a slide-out tray in the bottom. After they’ve been, the body rotates, and a mesh catches the clumps and deposits them in the tray, where there’s a bag with a wee deodorizer unit that smells like watermelon. You can connect it to Wi-Fi and review your cat’s toilet visits in the app on your phone, where each entry displays the time they went, their weight, and toilet trip duration. This self-cleaning box was easy to build and works surprisingly well, even though it feels kinda cheap. Ultimately, as a relatively affordable self-cleaning device, the PetSafe ScoopFree SmartSpin is worth a look. —Simon Hill

Not Recommended

Photograph: Molly Higgins

PetSnowy Snow+ Self-Cleaning Litter Box for $680: This box looks like something from Kubrick’s visions of space travel, or if Eames started making plastic litter boxes. It takes up quite a bit of horizontal floor space, so it may not be ideal for those in cramped apartments looking to conserve space. Unlike all others on this list, this globe is closed during cleaning, which could cause injury if the machine malfunctioned and didn’t sense a cat. The box also doesn’t tell you when the litter’s low or needs to be refilled. My cats had a really hard time using it—they just couldn’t understand that it was a litter box. Older cats could have a tough time jumping into it, and the smaller opening could be a problem if you have bigger cats. It might be great for someone who wants to keep things tidy—it’s extremely clean, smells good, and hugely reduces litter tracking. However, we just can’t recommend the device since it’s closed during cleaning, which is not safe.

Petlibro Luma Smart Litter Box for $600: I’m a big fan of Petlibro’s automatic feeders and fountains, but I’ve found that the brand’s other tech products, like this automatic litter box and AI-enabled pet camera, aren’t on the same level. First, we cannot recommend any model that closes completely during cleaning cycles. The Luma is outfitted with tons of sensors to prevent cleaning while a cat (or any object) is inside or near the entrance, and I highly doubt injury would occur. But the globe spins backward and forward, rather than clockwise and counterclockwise, meaning that the entrance is closed during cycling. If a sensing malfunction happened, the cat would be trapped inside. I appreciated the button controls on the outside top, which allow for manual control. However, they’re on a touchscreen above the camera. So, oftentimes, when I tried to manually reset, the camera caught me and wouldn’t continue the cleaning or control I asked of it, because the safety features would prevent action inside the box. It was very frustrating. When I went out of town, it got stuck in the middle of the cleaning cycle for two days because it kept sensing a ghost cat. The globe was mid-cycle, and the entrance was covered; I couldn’t bypass via the app to keep cleaning. (Thank God I had a second litter box for my cats available, or I would’ve been SOL.) The auto-deodorizing feature goes off automatically for five minutes after each use and sounds like an airplane engine. There’s no way to turn it off; you can turn the power down to a lower level, but it’s still egregiously loud. Right now, I can’t recommend this model (mostly for safety reasons), but a lot of the design flaws could be fixed in future iterations to make it a solid choice.

Photograph: Molly Higgins

The Pet Zone Smart Scoop for $166: This is probably the least “smart” automatic litter box we’ve tested—it’s a typical rectangular plastic box with an automatic arm that acts as a rake and scoops the clumped (soiled) litter into a small bin on the other side. Once the cat leaves, it begins a 15-minute countdown and the rake slides over the length of the box, (ideally) scooping up the waste and lifting it into the receptacle. You’re only allowed to fill the device with about an inch and a half of litter, which my cats didn’t like (they prefer a few inches to really bury it). The rake doesn’t stop when it’s in the cleaning cycle—even if something jumps in, which is potentially dangerous. My cats tend to pee on the side of the litter box, which, because of the rake’s placement, means it misses an inch on either side—I still had to scrape the caked-on litter from the edges. The cycle timing can’t be adjusted, so the litter didn’t have time to clump completely, and the rake would immediately break it down into smaller clumps that would then be missed because they were too small. For me, the hassle’s not worth it, and I’d rather just scoop it myself.

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During the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, 5G and 4K were the leading technologies available to many viewers. There was some AI, but it was mostly used for athletes’ benefit. For the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games there will be more technology than ever, for both athletes and fans.

Much of that technology has never been used at the Games before, says Yiannis Exarchos, the managing director of Olympic Broadcasting Services and executive director of Olympic Channel Services. The two organizations are responsible for producing much of the television, radio, and digital coverage, and content on Olympics.com. “In Milano Cortina, people will have unprecedented experiences,” Exarchos says.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Drone Views of Athlete Performances

One of the big technologies coming to the Milano Cortina Olympics are first-person view, or FPV, drones. These radio-controlled aircraft transmit images from their onboard cameras in real time to “offer dynamic perspectives on the race tracks,” Exarchos explains.

This year’s Games will also be the first to offer 360-degree real-time replay. Offered as part of a collaboration with Alibaba, the system uses multi-camera replay systems and stoboscopic analysis to ofter multi-angle views, freeze frames, and slow-motion images of athlete’s incredible moves.

Another first is a new tracking system for curling stones. “It will be possible to view the path, speed, and rotation of each stone in real time,” Exarchos explains. Suspended rail cameras and ice-level views will help viewers understand the game better, as will detailed stone trajectory graphics and real-time data.

The Olympics’ New AI Tool: Olympic GPT

Got a question about this year’s Games? Olympic GPT is here to help. The bot specializes in producing content for the Olympics.com website. It’ll offer real-time results and information on sport regulations, and, for the first time, will have the ability to interact with questions about the results of ongoing competitions.

“Artificial-intelligence-based article summaries on Olympics.com will give fans a quick and clear overview,” Exarchos says. “They highlight key points to help users decide what to explore further, while also improving accessibility and reading from mobile devices.”

Virtual Video Production

For the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, a lot of the video production will be moving to the cloud. Virtual outside broadcasting (OB) vans will help decentralize the process of getting images from events to fans’ screens. Using virtual cloud infrastructure, organizers say, helps reduce energy consumption by some 50 percent and enables remote production for events like curling and speed skating.

Everything will be managed through an entirely cloud-based master control room recently tested at the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia in January. There, space savings were 75 percent over the previous championship, while energy consumption was reduced by 65 percent.

The Olympics’ Big Data Moment

For this winter’s Games, Olympic Broadcasting Services is also testing an automated description platform to help teams manage the huge volume of video coming in live during their events. “Artificial intelligence breaks down broadcasts into searchable clips, suggests shot descriptions and keywords, and helps users quickly find highlights, making storytelling faster and easier,” says Exarchos. AI will then analyze real-time traffic spikes on Olympics.com and identify the most valuable moments for fans.

This story originally appeared in WIRED Italia. It has been translated from Italian.

It’s 2005, and the computer room has been vibrating for two hours straight, my fingers gliding across the keyboard copying HTML and Java code while jamming to the latest R&B CD I burned. No, I’m not a computer programming wiz — I’m designing my MySpace page. I spend countless hours choosing the perfect song, trying to figure out why my About section header isn’t bold, and how to get those glittery GIFs to work.

I was in sixth grade when MySpace became popular, and today, my niece, an avid TikTok-er, is the same age I was back then. So after spending most of the summer rejecting my niece’s urgent requests to join in on her trending TikTok dances, I did what any researcher would do — start with “me-search.” I asked my niece what her TikTok would tell someone about her that they wouldn’t otherwise know.

“I’m trendy. I’m into fashion. I like to dance,” she said.

Thinking back to my constant MySpace page redesigning, Top 8 tweaks, and song choice updates, my obsession with getting the page just right wasn’t all that different from Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s TikTok fixation.

Granted, I could easily shut down the computer, leave the room, go hang out with friends, do homework, and not think about it until a new song hit me so deeply I thought, “this should be on my page!”

In contrast, observing my niece and her friends today, I wonder why kids just can’t get off that particular app.

Yes, there have been relative social and cultural changes since the mid-2000s, but there is one inimitable variable: the COVID-19 shutdowns. We heard a lot about Gen Z or “Zoomers,” during the COVID-19 pandemic, coming of age and entering college in virtual school classrooms. But the pandemic shutdowns also forced the newest generation at the time, Gen Alpha, to interact in the virtual world. I remember my niece’s last few months of kindergarten on Zoom. For career day, she said she wanted to be a “brain doctor,” so we dressed her up as a surgeon. Watching the kids excitedly scan their classmates’ Zoom boxes to guess each other’s costumes. Between this virtual reality and TikTok’s tweaks to its algorithms and features, we have the perfect storm for what psychologists call “short video addiction.”

This timeline doesn’t start with TikTok, but its accessible video creation lowered the stakes when the mass exodus from what used to be Twitter turned users toward other platforms that prioritize influencers and sponsored content in its feeds, making the average user a content- consuming doom scroller instead of a participant in —– our not-so-social —– social media. Over the past few years, surveys of user behavior have shown a downward trend in people posting and an increase in influencer and product ads. When TikTok’s low-stakes algorithms made going viral seem attainable for any user who can hop on a trending sound or dance, the rest of its competitors iterated — Instagram Reels, FaceBook Reels, YouTube Shorts — all on an eternally refreshing loop of new content.

With how much time and energy children today pour into videos and social media, it prompts the question of whether we can harness that for something potentially a little more productive: education.

Scroll Science

Can learning be as addictive as TikTok?

Well, let’s look at the science behind why it’s so addictive. You’ve probably heard about dopamine. It isn’t just our brain’s pleasure chemical — it’s also the learning signal that releases after unexpected rewards, especially from low-effort activity, like swiping from reel to reel and finding even better DIY project ideas you’ve been wanting to get to.

We experience either positive, negative, or zero reward prediction error, which keeps us striving for more rewards. Neuroscience research gives us a clear picture of what’s happening in our brains when we’re watching short-form videos. Our brains are constantly predicting what will happen next — it’s one of the ways we stay safe and make sense of the world. Reward prediction error is that chemical magic that happens when our prediction is wrong. It’s the same basic mechanism used to design slot machines and other variable-reward systems.

With endless video loops, when the next clip is better than we expected — the kind that’s so spot-on you immediately save it or send it to the group chat — our brain gives us a small dopamine boost. When a video is boring, we get no dopamine. When it’s disappointing, dopamine briefly dips. That constant cycle of maybe this next one will be great, new information, or useful is what keeps us scrolling.With every social media feed carefully curated for each user, there are dozens of algorithms learning what holds your gaze to feed you more of what will keep you on the app or website. For me, it’s funny parenting reels and home improvement YouTube Shorts. Of course I need to see the difference between galvanized and stainless steel screws for my next DIY project. That’s the sense of novelty and variable rewards that keeps us scrolling.

Lastly, because the feeds just keep feeding more content through the infinite scroll feature, there’s no natural stopping point, so there is never a cue to stop and end the scrolling session.

Recent neuroscience studies show that high TikTok usage can activate brain regions tied to impulse and habit formation. In another recent study, researchers looked at electroencephalogram, or EEG tests, to assess the relationship between youth and young adults’ frequent short video consumption and reduced attention control, higher levels of stress, and learning fatigue. These are the makings of short video addiction, a condition researchers suggest is worthy of a spot in the DSM-5.

We Can Make Learning As Addictive

But should we?

It sounds like a good idea. It reminds me of when adults would say, “if only you knew your times tables like you know those rap songs.” But in this case, it’s not as simple as putting math on hip-hop beats.

Imagine your child or student’s TikTok infinite scroll were actually mini-lessons on tectonic plates, followed by how a basketball arc follows a parabola, and each 30‑second video ended with a satisfying “aha” moment and a surprising new fact. The algorithm could learn what students enjoy and what they are struggling with, then feed them culturally relevant examples with humor and well-timed reveals. It would feel great, and your students might start saying, “Just one more reel,” as they send you GIFs and memes — seemingly addicted to learning!

Let’s look deeper at the science of learning. These techniques would likely keep students engaged, producing frequent dopamine hits, but for information to register as learning, though, we need a little more than dopamine and surprise rewards. Learning requires effortful processing, retrieval, and opportunities to apply ideas in new situations. Otherwise, our educational TikTok app prototype could fall into the loop of attention trap, making it easy to go from education to edu-tainment without the friction of problem-solving that makes learning stick.

This is where the attention trap shows up: a stream of highly optimized, bite-sized “aha” moments can keep eyes glued to the screen while quietly removing the productive friction of wrestling with problems, making choices, and getting feedback — the very processes that strengthen memory, understanding, and transfer. When the system does all the cognitive heavy lifting, students get edu‑tainment: they feel informed and interested, but they have not built the durable mental models that let them explain, use, or remember the ideas later.

Learning takes more than clever hooks and sticky formats. Digital experiences can be engaging — even addictive — but if they skip struggle and retrieval, they risk producing the illusion of learning rather than the real thing. As educators, the goal is not to compete with short‑form platforms on sheer stickiness, but to design experiences where attention is channeled into thinking, problem‑solving, and revisiting ideas over time.

Education apps can be addictive, but I’m not sure we want them to be. Then there might be too many people like me — addicted to the infinite scroll of YouTube Shorts on neuroscience and psychology research.

The European Commission said today that TikTok is facing a fine because its addictive features, including infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and personalized recommendation systems, are breaching the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

According to preliminary findings, TikTok has failed to adequately assess how these features could harm users’ physical and mental well-being, including minors and vulnerable adults.

The commission found that TikTok fuels the users’ urge to keep scrolling and shifts their brains into “autopilot mode” by constantly rewarding users with new content, potentially reducing self-control and leading to compulsive behavior.

TikTok has also disregarded important indicators of compulsive use, including the time minors spend on the app at night and how frequently users open it, the commission added.

If the findings are confirmed, the violations could trigger a fine of up to 6% of TikTok’s global annual turnover. To avoid being fined for violating the EU’s digital regulations, the commission said TikTok needs to change its core service design by implementing screen time breaks, adapting its recommendation system, and disabling key addictive features.

“Social media addiction can have detrimental effects on the developing minds of children and teens, said EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen on Friday.

“The Digital Services Act makes platforms responsible for the effects they can have on their users. In Europe, we enforce our legislation to protect our children and our citizens online.”

The commission added that while TikTok has some mitigation measures, such as parental controls and screen-time management tools, these are likely ineffective because they are easy to dismiss and require parents to enable them manually.

In November, French prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into TikTok, accusing it of failing to safeguard the mental health of children.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined TikTok €530 million (over $601 million) in May 2025 for illegally transferring the personal data of users in the European Economic Area (EEA) to China, in violation of the EU’s GDPR data protection regulations.

Two years earlier, the Irish watchdog slapped TikTok with a €345 million ($368 million) fine for violating children’s privacy by processing their data and employing “dark patterns” during registration and video posting.

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Gaming laptops get expensive fast, especially once you start asking for a sharper display and enough storage to avoid constant uninstalling. That’s why the “good screen, good GPU, sensible storage” tier is where the best deals live. The HP OMEN 16 is $1,059.99, saving you $420 off the $1,479.99 compared value. For a 16-inch machine with a 2K 144Hz panel, RTX 5060, and a 1TB SSD, this is a strong value if you want one laptop that can do games, work, and everything in between.

What you’re getting

This laptop pairs an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H (2025) with 16GB memory, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, and a 1TB SSD. The screen is the star: 16 inches, 2K resolution, and a 144Hz refresh rate. That combination is ideal for the kind of gaming people actually do on a laptop: crisp visuals when you’re exploring single-player worlds, and smoother motion when you’re jumping into competitive titles.

The 1TB SSD matters more than it sounds like. Modern games are huge, and a lot of “deal” laptops quietly cut storage to hit the price. Here, you get enough room to keep several big games installed and still have space for school or work files.

Why it’s worth it

This deal hits the practical upgrade trifecta:

• 2K + 144Hz gives you a noticeably nicer experience than basic 1080p panels
• RTX 5060 is the right class of GPU for modern gaming, approaching extreme pricing
• 1TB storage keeps the laptop usable long-term

It’s also a good pick if you want a machine that can double as a productivity laptop. A strong CPU, a high-resolution screen, and plenty of storage make it comfortable for everyday tasks, creative work, and multitasking, not just gaming.

One realistic note: 16GB RAM is fine for most people, but if you plan to stream, edit, and game at the same time, memory is often the first upgrade worth considering later. The good news is that’s usually easier than upgrading a GPU.

The bottom line

At $1,059.99, this HP OMEN 16 is a strong value if you want a sharper 2K 144Hz display, a modern RTX 5060 GPU, and a roomy 1TB SSD in a single laptop that can handle both gaming and daily life. If you only play lightweight games, you can spend less. But if you want a laptop that feels genuinely capable across current titles and won’t feel cramped a year from now, this discount is worth taking.

When we cover televisions, we often talk about the most popular 55 and 65-inch versions, but as someone with an 85-inch TV in their guest room, I know the appeal of an oversized screen. Today, I’ve got a deal for you on the larger end of Sony’s Bravia 9 Series screens, with a $900 discount on the 75-inch model, and a massive $1,800 markdown on the 85-inch version.

In addition to taking up an entire wall of your living room, these big screens are also super bright, reaching a stated 3,000 nits of peak brightness. Our reviewer Ryan Waniata, watching Moana, noted that “the sun blazed to near eye-squinting levels.” It’s helped along by quantum dots, which help colors look bright and real, even with the brightness cranked up.

While the viewing angles can’t quite compete with the best OLED screens, Sony has some tricks up its sleeve, like antireflection coating and wide-panel tech, which should make sure everyone on the couch has a good view. The occasional rainbow that pops up as a result is most noticeable with dark scenes in a well-lit room, which isn’t exactly the best viewing condition regardless of screen size or panel type.

It isn’t all perfect, unfortunately. There are only two HDMI 2.1 ports, and only one of them is the eARC port, so it’s likely to be tied up with your sound bar. Sharp-eyed viewers may also spot some uniformity issues, particularly around the edges of the screen.

If you don’t feel like you’re ready for the big leagues, or you just don’t have the space in your living room, the 65-inch model of the Sony Bravia 9 is marked down to $2,000, a $1,000 discount, and is a more average sized display. Still, if you can spare the room on your wall, the 75-inch model is just $2,600 and very impressive, and the 85-inch version, while truly gargantuan, is deeply discounted to $3,000. If you’re not sold on the Sony, make sure to swing by our roundup of the best televisions, which also included OLED and QD-OLED options, or check out the full review of the Bravia 9 to see why we recommend it so highly.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! Fittingly, today’s Mini Crossword includes some related clues. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: The Eagles have the only N.F.L. logo that faces this way
Answer: LEFT

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Wash vigorously
Answer: SCRUB

8A clue: Classic opera set in Rome
Answer: TOSCA

9A clue: To the ___ degree
Answer: NTH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Fourth place in an N.F.L. division, for example
Answer: LAST

2D clue: Former inmate, informally
Answer: EXCON

3D clue: Successful gain of ten yards, when combined with this answer’s direction?
Answer: FIRST

4D clue: Trip to the end zone, when combined with this answer’s direction?
Answer: TOUCH

6D clue: Deg. held by many a C.E.O.
Answer: MBA

Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.