The best smart rings of 2025: I tested and found an obvious winner

If you're a Wordle fan who got tripped up by today's unusually tricky starting letter, you're not alone. The puzzle began with the least common letter in the English alphabet—and the article spills the beans on which letters you should try first to keep your streak alive. It even includes a handy ranking of all letters by frequency.

Scientists have discovered that caffeine affects brain activity during sleep in ways that vary by age—boosting complexity and "criticality" (a sweet spot for optimal brain function) in younger brains, but potentially disrupting it in older ones. The study suggests caffeine might help younger people’s brains process information more efficiently during sleep, while older adults could see less benefit or even drawbacks.

Editor’s Note: If you’ve ever wondered why your post-coffee nap feels different at 25 vs. 55, this research offers clues. It’s not just about staying awake—caffeine might subtly reshape how your brain organizes itself during sleep, with implications for memory, learning, and even aging. Worth keeping an eye on, especially if you’re a lifelong coffee devotee.

Google Photos is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a fresh makeover for its photo editor and some new sharing tricks up its sleeve. The redesign, rolling out to both Android and iOS, aims to make editing and sharing pics even smoother—just in time for a decade of storing our messy selfies and vacation snaps.

Editor’s Note: If you’re one of the millions who rely on Google Photos to organize your life (or just hoard memes), these updates could make your routine edits and shares a little snappier. It’s a nice nod to long-time users—and maybe a nudge to stick around as competition heats up in the photo storage space.

Black Forest Labs just dropped FLUX.1 Kontext, a new tool designed to streamline image editing in AI workflows. Unlike traditional methods, it lets users tweak images repeatedly—using text prompts or reference images—without slowing things down. Think of it like a "non-destructive edit" feature for generative AI, but built for businesses juggling complex creative pipelines.

Editor’s Note: For companies leaning hard on AI-generated visuals, this could be a game-changer. Ever tried tweaking an AI image only to hit bottlenecks or lose quality? Kontext tackles that. It’s not just about speed; it’s about making iterative edits practical for teams—say, ad agencies refining campaign assets or e-commerce brands updating product mockups. If it delivers, this could shrink the gap between "AI prototype" and "final draft."

Valve's Steam Deck is a slick portable gaming machine, but it might struggle with Elden Ring Nightreign, the latest multiplayer expansion from FromSoftware. Early reports suggest performance hiccups—think frame rate dips and loading snags—which could make battling through the Lands Between a bit rougher on the go.

Editor’s Note: If you were hoping to take Elden Ring Nightreign on the road with your Steam Deck, temper those expectations. This isn’t a dealbreaker—the Deck still handles plenty of games beautifully—but it’s a reminder that cutting-edge, graphics-heavy titles sometimes push portable hardware to its limits. For die-hard Elden Ring fans, it might be worth waiting for optimizations or sticking to a beefier rig.