As we reach what we expect to be the midpoint of this console generation, we can’t help but look to the future. In four years, there’s a very good chance the hardware hype cycle will start up once again as Sony plans to release a PlayStation 6. While we’re certainly jumping the gun in anticipating it (we’re still waiting for a PS5 Pro, after all), we’ve been taking a moment this month to reflect on this console generation and what we want from the next one based on how its gone.

For the sake of daydreaming, I’ve put together a list of features I’m already hoping to see on PlayStation 6. Think of this less as an impatient glimpse at the future, though. If anything, it’s more of a commentary on what’s currently lacking on PS5. I hope to see the inevitable PS5 Pro address some of these issues, but if it doesn’t, this is what I’ll need to see if the PS6 drops in 2028.

Consistent performance

At the start of this currently console generation, Sony and Microsoft made some lofty promises. Players thought they would get incredible resolutions — up to 8K! — with games running at 60 frames per second. That hasn’t been the case. Performance has been inconsistent this generation, with a lot of new releases still struggling to run at 4K and 60fps at the same time. That’s something the PS6 needs to fix. With graphical fidelity plateauing, performance is one of the few technical leaps that hardware manufacturers have left. PC-like performance will become a necessity if players are going to spend another $500 on a console when the last one underdelivered. I don’t need 8K or other unrealistic selling points; I just want my PS6 games to run smoothly.

DualSense back buttons

When it comes to a controller, there’s little I actually want to see changed about the PS5’s DualSense. It’s an excellent gamepad that makes a strong case for haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. The only thing I’d actually want from a DualSense 2 is back buttons on day one. If you own something like the Xbox Elite Series 2 or DualSense Edge, you’re likely familiar with this concept. Premium controllers tend to include two to four buttons on their backside that players can map anything too. That feature will change the way you play, allowing for faster and more fluid play. No hardware manufacturer has ever made this a standard  feature that comes with a console, but the PS6 generation should raise that bar.

Sleeker design

This one is probably a no brainer for anyone who owns the original PS5 model. Sony came into this current console generation in a bold way with the PS5’s enormous design. It’s a statement piece compared to the Xbox Series X, or really any console since the Nintendo GameCube. That gave it an iconic look, but also made it a pain to fit in an entertainment center. The console’s 2023 refresh thankfully made it smaller and more customizable, but there’s still more room to cut down. I hope the PS6 goes back to basics and opts for a design that’s a bit more discrete.

More customization

Other than size, there’s one other thing that Sony nailed with its PS5 redesign: customization. The console doesn’t just give players more faceplate options, but also supports a detachable disc drive. That feature teased a console future that’s a little closer to the PC world with swappable parts. I’d love to see the PS6 really lean into that more. Give me more options for storage or let me tweak parts that can help optimize it. The appeal of a console is that players don’t need to maintain it like a PC, but I’d be willing to spend some money on extra accessories if it meant I could beef it up and solve some of its shortcomings on the fly instead of waiting for a full hardware upgrade.

Better access to PS3 games

Backward compatibility is a given at this point when talking about a new console, so I’ll offer something more specific: Please give me a way to access PS3 games. If you’ve ever tried to play a PS3 game in 2024, you probably know that it’s extremely difficult without the actual console. PS3 discs don’t run on PS5, for starters. What’s worse, though, is that the PS3 games included as part of PS Plus can only be accessed via cloud streaming. And that catalogue barely features any PS3 games to begin with; you still can’t easily play Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot without digging out your PS3. That specifically needs to change with PS6, whether it’s with deeper backward compatibility with physical media or native emulations of old games.

Tear down the walled garden

This one is more about where PlayStation is headed as opposed to where it is right now. During this console generation, Sony has quietly moved toward a walled garden ecosystem similar to how Apple operates. It really wants players to use Sony products with the PS5 and is going to increasingly great lengths to make that happen. For instance, look at its PlayStation Link audio tech. The new connectivity feature is used on recent Sony audio devices like the Pulse Elite. It’s a handy option, but Sony seems eager to make it the only one players can use. The PlayStation Portal doesn’t include Bluetooth, so players need to buy specific Sony products to get wireless audio on the device. I fear that this is the direction Sony might be moving in more broadly, and the PS6 could solidify that. I hope the PS6 smashes that wall instead, supporting features like Dolby Vision on the platform instead of using Sony’s own solutions.

Love crossword puzzles but don’t have all day to sit and solve a full-sized puzzle in your daily newspaper? That’s what The Mini is for!

A bite-sized version of the New York Times’ well-known crossword puzzle, The Mini is a quick and easy way to test your crossword skills daily in a lot less time (the average puzzle takes most players just over a minute to solve). While The Mini is smaller and simpler than a normal crossword, it isn’t always easy. Tripping up on one clue can be the difference between a personal best completion time and an embarrassing solve attempt.

Just like our Wordle hints and Connections hints, we’re here to help with The Mini today if you’re stuck and need a little help.

Below are the answers for the NYT Mini crossword today.

NYT Mini Crossword answers today

Across

Down

Totally awful, in slang – TRASH
Words on many self-help books – HOWTO
Confess – ADMIT
Gradually introduces to solid food – WEANS
Best Original ___ (Oscars category) – SONG

Streaming services provide thousands of movies for consumers to watch every month. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Max are some of the top streaming services on the market. However, these services have monthly fees. If you subscribe to all four services, then it will cost you a pretty penny. If you’re looking for alternative streaming options, try YouTube, which offers free movies with ads.

YouTube does not have the expansive libraries that Netflix or Max boast. However, YouTube offers many films in multiple genres, including drama, comedy, action, adventure, thriller, and horror. To help guide your choice, we curated a list of the best free movies to watch on YouTube this month.

Looking for more stuff you can watch for free? Check out our guides to the best free shows on YouTube and the best sites for watching free movies online.

We have the solution to Wordle on July 3, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We’ve placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don’t ruin the surprise before you’ve had a chance to work through the clues. So let’s dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday’s answer.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Let’s start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday’s Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don’t play it daily, which was “INLAY.” So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn’t that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.

Hints for today’s Wordle

Still can’t figure it out? We have today’s Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let’s take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there’s no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive — you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter G.
Today’s Wordle uses one vowel.
Today’s Wordle is the part of the human leg between the hip and the knee.

Today’s Wordle answer

No luck? Don’t sweat it — you can’t get them all! If you just want to see today’s Wordle answer to continue your streak, you can find it below.

The answer to today’s Wordle is …

THIGH
Today’s Wordle definition

And here’s what it means, according to our good friend ChatGPT:

Tips for tomorrow’s Wordle

It might seem like Wordle is all luck, but there are a few good practices you can use to help get as many clues as possible in just a few guesses, making it that much more likely you can figure out the final word before you run out of tries. The most important guess is your first, and the trick is to load up on vowels (A, E, I, O, and U).

Some popular starting words people have had good luck with are “adieu,” “media,” “arise,” and “radio.” Just make sure not to pick a word with double letters, or you’re wasting precious guesses. The aim here is to try to figure out which vowels the mystery word contains, then layer in common consonants and close in from there.

Your second word, assuming that the first one gave you a good jumping-off point, should begin to lean more heavily on common consonants like R, S, and T. More good ones here we’ve seen are “stern,” “irate,” and “atone.” You never want to reuse any letters from a prior round that showed up as gray — you know they aren’t in the word.

Now that’s all solved and the definition is taken care of, and you’re armed with some tips to crush tomorrow’s Wordle, here are some games like Wordle you can try today.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There’s no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you’re stuck and need to know the answers to today’s Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.

How to play Strands

You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the “theme words” hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.

If you find a word that isn’t a theme word, it still helps! For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, you’ll get a hint — the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and you’ll just have to unscramble it.

Every single letter on the grid is used to spell out the theme words and there is no overlap. Every letter will be used once, and only once.

Each puzzle contains one “spangram,” a special theme word (or words) that describe the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted yellow.

The goal should be to complete the puzzle quickly without using too many hints.

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s theme is “Spin your wheels.”

Here’s a hint that might help you: “it’s just like riding a …”

Today’s Strand answers

Today’s spanagram

We’ll start by giving you the spangram, which might help you figure out the theme and solve the rest of the puzzle on your own:

Today’s Strands answers

PEDAL
KICKSTAND
CHAIN
SADDLE
BREAK
FENDER

Connections is the latest puzzle game from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.

Some days are trickier than others. If you’re having a little trouble solving today’s Connections puzzle, check out our tips and hints below. And if you still can’t get it, we’ll tell you today’s answers at the very end.

How to play Connections

In Connections, you’ll be shown a grid containing 16 words — your objective is to organize these words into four sets of four by identifying the connections that link them. These sets could encompass concepts like titles of video game franchises, book series sequels, shades of red, names of chain restaurants, etc.

There are generally words that seem like they could fit multiple themes, but there’s only one 100% correct answer. You’re able to shuffle the grid of words and rearrange them to help better see the potential connections.

Each group is color-coded. The yellow group is the easiest to figure out, followed by the green, blue, and purple groups.

Pick four words and hit Submit. If you’re correct, the four words will be removed from the grid and the theme connecting them will be revealed. Guess incorrectly and it’ll count as a mistake. You only have four mistakes available until the game ends.

Hints for today’s Connections

We can help you solve today’s Connection by telling you the four themes. If you need more assistance, we’ll also give you one word from each group below.

Today’s themes

PACK (AWAY) FOR FUTURE USE
ADJECTIVES FOR ASSETS
LATIN WORDS
___ GAME

One-answer reveals

PACK (AWAY) FOR FUTURE USE – SQUIRREL
ADJECTIVES FOR ASSETS – FIXED
LATIN WORDS – CAVEAT
___ GAME – ARCADE

Today’s Connections answers

Still no luck? That’s OK. This puzzle is designed to be difficult.  If you just want to see today’s Connections answer, we’ve got you covered below:

DEVELOP, AS IDEAS – BRAINSTORM, IDEATE, SPITBALL, WORKSHOP
TANGIBLE – CONCRETE, MATERIAL, REAL, SOLID
KINDS OF CAKE – BIRTHDAY, CRUMB, MARBLE, POUND
THINGS YOU CAN THROW, IN METAPHORS – CURVEBALL, PARTY, TANTRUM, WRENCH

Connections grids vary widely and change every day. If you couldn’t solve today’s puzzle, be sure to check back in tomorrow.

A $50 million fund paid by Apple to settle a class-action lawsuit over faulty butterfly keyboards on MacBooks is about to be shared among affected customers with an approved claim, MacRumors reported.

Although the settlement was agreed in 2022, a court has only recently issued a payment order, with payouts for approved claims set to be made this month, according to a notice on the MacBook Keyboard Litigation Settlement website. Claims from impacted customers were accepted through March 6, 2023, but it’s not clear why it’s taken so long to start sending out the money.

The issue affected butterfly keyboards on MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros that were sold between 2015 and 2019. The keyboards were poorly designed and susceptible to failure, and caused numerous complaints about the keys sticking or failing entirely. The issue even prompted one frustrated customer to write a song about it, which became a hit on YouTube.

MacBook owners who needed at least two keyboard replacements from Apple within four years of purchase will receive a payment of up to $395, while customers who had to replace one keyboard can expect to receive as much as $125. Those who had smaller issues with one or more keys on the butterfly keyboard can expect to receive up to $50.

The tech giant tried to improve the design of the keyboard but even the third generation had issues. It finally ditched the butterfly keyboard in late 2019, returning to a more conventional scissor switch mechanism that’s more robust and therefore far less likely to fail.

Apple has always denied the allegations made in the lawsuit, and the settlement to resolve the case is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing.

Cambridge Audio is no stranger to the audiophile world or its denizens, who like to obsess over sound quality. So it’s no surprise that the company’s first set of wireless headphones — the Melomania P100 — have a bunch of features aimed squarely at this market. You can buy the new noise-canceling cans for $279 in either black or white starting in July at both cambridgeaudio.com and Amazon.

Design-wise, the P100 may share many design traits with other flagship headphones — the aluminum and plastic materials are especially reminiscent of Bose’s recently released QuietComfort Ultra Headphones — but under the surface lurks an unusual feature: The company has equipped the P100 with AB amplification, typically reserved for dedicated hi-fi components. It’s the same audiophile-grade technology that Cambridge Audio used in its Melomania M100 wireless earbuds.

Enthusiasts tend to agree that AB amplifiers produce better sound quality than the class D amplifiers you’ll find in the majority of wireless headphones, earbuds, and speakers. However, class D amps tend to be more efficient, making them the obvious choice when dealing with a battery’s limited power capacity.

This makes the P100’s claimed battery life all the more stunning. Cambridge Audio says you’ll get up to 60 hours when ANC is turned on and a gigantic 100 hours if you leave it turned off. In the unlikely event you run out of juice, a quick-charge feature gives an extra two hours of ANC-based playtime after just five minutes of charging.

The ANC technology is similar to many headphones in this space: You can select from ANC on, ANC off, and transparency modes.

If you’ve got one of the few smartphones that supports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound platform, the P100 can also deliver lossless, CD-quality audio via the aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec. If you don’t have that kind of phone, you can still get lossy hi-res audio from the aptX Adaptive codec, which is supported on many more devices. You can also avail yourself of Bluetooth Multipoint to maintain simultaneous wireless connections to two devices.

Still, if lossless audio is what you crave, the P100 lets you listen via two different wired connections: USB-C to 3.5mm jack or USB-C to USB-C, the latter of which is perfect for connecting to Android Phones or the iPhone 15.

The company says it has gone to great lengths to tune the P100’s custom 40mm triple-layer drivers to deliver the “Cambridge sound,” but inside the Melomania Connect app is a seven-band equalizer that can be used to adjust the sound signature to your specific tastes. There are also six presets if you’d prefer not to spend too much time moving sliders around.

An available game mode reduces wireless latency, and it’s possible the P100 could make for a great set of gaming cans — the company says the earcups have pads made from “carefully selected” memory foam covered in faux leather. It also claims that “enormous amounts of time and testing” were put into selecting the clamping force to suit the largest variety of head sizes.

Those earcup pads are user-replaceable, and astonishingly, so is that massive rechargeable battery — a rarity in the wireless headphone world.