Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #947) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #947) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• HOOF
• HOOT
• STOVE
• ROAR
• SEAL
• SLED

NYT Strands today (game #947) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #947) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #947) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #947, are…

• FLIP
• UNDO
• REVERSED
• OVERTURN
• BACKPEDAL
• SPANGRAM: THEOLDSWITCHEROO

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

I saw “switch” and then I saw “switcheroo” but it took me until the very end of the game to finally connect today’s spangram.

At 16 letters long THEOLDSWITCHEROO is the longest spangram we've had in ages; “cardiovascular” last month was 14 characters long, but I can't think of an example that's been longer recently. And, in true switchback style, it also completed the unusual feat of starting and ending on the same side of the grid.

All in all this was a trickier-than-usual search, with hard to get non-game words and BACKPEDAL connecting in spiralling fashion.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, October 5, game #946)

• ALAS
• BUMMER
• SUCKS
• BOOHOO
• UNFORTUNATE
• SORRY
• SPANGRAM: SADTROMBONE

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1716) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1716) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1716) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1716) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1716) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1716) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1716, are…

• FRESH
• SKULK
• BATCH
• ENSUE

When you get four letters correct from a guess, but one wrong, you get a mixed feeling of happiness and annoyance at coming so close.

I experienced this today with SKULK, following my first guess of “skull”.

Fortunately from here on in I scored a 100% success rate.

Daily Sequence today (game #1716) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1716, are…

• QUALM
• DETER
• UNDUE
• SAVVY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1715, Monday, 5 October: SIXTH, SPEAK, SEDAN, HEIST
• Quordle #1714, Sunday, 4 October: INFER, RAINY, THING, ARENA
• Quordle #1713, Saturday, 3 October: CHORE, FLYER, STICK, PURSE
• Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
• Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1715) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1715) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1715) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1715) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1715) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1715) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1715, are…

• SIXTH
• SPEAK
• SEDAN
• HEIST

It feels as if it has been a long time since we have had a rare letter.

Today, the letter X made an appearance and almost caught me out. Helping me off the hook, though, was the fact that — even rarer than the letter X — there were three words beginning with the same letter.

Daily Sequence today (game #1715) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1715, are…

• DIMLY
• CRASH
• EBONY
• OPIUM

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1714, Sunday, 4 October: INFER, RAINY, THING, ARENA
• Quordle #1713, Saturday, 3 October: CHORE, FLYER, STICK, PURSE
• Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
• Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #946) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #946) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• BONE
• SCUM
• HOOD
• TREAT
• CURB
• TURN

NYT Strands today (game #946) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #946) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #946) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #946, are…

• ALAS
• BUMMER
• SUCKS
• BOOHOO
• UNFORTUNATE
• SORRY
• SPANGRAM: SADTROMBONE

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

I was thrilled to get a Spangram First yesterday but there was absolutely no chance of spotting it today — congratulations if you were smart enough to see it.

I was totally puzzled by the theme, so I took a hint — but ALAS didn’t help me much.

Fortunately, I managed to connect BUMMER (not a word I was expecting to see in a game of Strands) and from here managed to make my sad SORRY way around the board. BOOHOO me.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, October 4, game #945)

• PONG
• FROGGER
• ASTEROIDS
• CENTIPEDE
• SCRAMBLE
• SPANGRAM FIRST: ARCADEGAMES

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1714) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1714) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1714) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1714) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1714) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1714) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1714, are…

• INFER
• RAINY
• THING
• ARENA

A tricky one today, with multiple possibilities to navigate.

ARENA, though, was just hard to get because of the mental block of thinking of words ending in vowels. However, with the N in the fourth position and few other options I knew it had to end with N-A.

Daily Sequence today (game #1714) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1714, are…

• MUSIC
• FLUTE
• BRAWN
• VIVID

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1713, Saturday, 3 October: CHORE, FLYER, STICK, PURSE
• Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
• Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #945) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #945) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• STAG
• SEAT
• GATES
• RIDE
• GORE
• DECADE
• SONG
• BELT

NYT Strands today (game #945) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #945) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #945) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #945, are…

• PONG
• FROGGER
• ASTEROIDS
• CENTIPEDE
• SCRAMBLE
• SPANGRAM FIRST: ARCADEGAMES

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

When I saw today’s theme “grab your tokens” I immediately thought of video games and went in search of the word “arcade”. And thus ARCADEGAMES became my 107th Spangram First.

Arcades trigger plenty of memories for me, but mainly how laughably awful I was at every single game I tried — everyone else I knew was amazing at them and would stay on for ages, whereas I’d lose my life in seconds even on simple games such as Pac-Man. I didn’t mind, though; I was an enthusiastic spectator.

Having said all that, despite getting PONG, FROGGER and ASTEROIDS in a quick blast, the lesser-played CENTIPEDE and SCRAMBLE were harder to spot.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, October 3, game #944)

• MIRAGE
• ILLUSION
• CHIMERA
• SPECTER
• PHANTASM
• SPANGRAM:WILLOTHEWISP

There's no shortage of options to consider as far as the best laptops are concerned, particularly when you're weighing up mid-range and premium models. For many years, Chromebooks have existed as an affordable entry point to portable computing that removes the high-cost barrier for productivity and play with their web-based operating system. However, everything's changing with the recent announcement of Googlebooks, AI-powered machines aimed at the likes of the MacBook and the best ultrabooks.

It's a bold, Gemini-backed swing from the Californian company. Gemini Intelligence is the central USP here, with an Android/Linux hybrid OS replacing the likes of traditional laptop operating systems, running on powerful hardware, such as Intel Core Ultra and Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors.

There's a ton of ground to cover with the design philosophies, price-to-performance, value for money, and general usability of an Android-based Googlebook when weighed up against a web-based Chromebook, let alone how the incoming Gemini-packed computers hold up against their competition.

As a result, I'm going through everything you need to know about Googlebooks vs Chromebooks, analyzing their use case, build quality, battery life, design, features, and other aspects to see if it's worth taking the plunge with Gemini Intelligence, or seeing if you're better suited to a more traditional laptop instead.

Googlebooks vs Chromebooks: Price comparison

The biggest defining characteristic of Googlebooks at this early stage of its rollout is their premium nature. Currently, there are only a handful of different models to choose from, and all carry high-end price tags. Early adopters can choose from the Acer Googlebook 14, the Asus Googlebook 14, the Dell XPS Googlebook, the HP Googlebook 14, and the Lenovo Googlebook 15. Starting configurations begin at $899 / £999 to $1,299 / £1,199, depending on the included amount of RAM, choice of processor, and onboard storage. All these models either use an Intel Core Ultra 5/7 or the Snapdragon X Elite.

In contrast, Chromebooks have (historically) always been a cost-effective way to be productive, get work done, and enjoy multimedia playback. Lightweight, fast, and affordable have always been the mantra of these devices. Popular choices in 2026 include the HP Chromebook 14 ($249 / £249), Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus ($699 / £649), Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 ($599 / £599), and the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 ($439 / £429). These web-based machines typically cater to light laptop users, and they don't require much processing power under the hood to perform their tasks, keeping the prices competitive.

While there have been relatively expensive Chromebooks in the past, they have been few and far between, and failed to properly muscle in on ultrabook territory because they rely on a web-based operating system. They can be surprisingly capable for enterprising users, and we saw this most prominently four years ago with the launch of the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook. It's gone down in history as the best high-end Chromebook ever designed; however, it didn't sell well and was quietly discontinued in mid 2024. No company has attempted to make such a high-end device again since, until the new Googlebooks.

The average price of a Chromebook is between $300 and $400 (£300 to £400) for a reliable machine from a trusted manufacturer. Conversely, if we look at the freshly revealed Googlebooks (which begin at $999 to $1,299), that's a markup of 233%. Before we get into the architectural and hardware differences, we need to ask the question: are Googlebooks really good enough to spend double (or triple) what you would on a Chromebook? For some, that's going to be a tough sell. If you're tight on cash and just want a basic machine for light use, then a Chromebook will be the better buy, and if you want more processing power, then things become more nuanced.

Googlebooks vs Chromebooks: OS and App support

The second big defining trait of Googlebooks is how they openly embrace today's best laptop processors rather than cheap out on something serviceable, yet unexciting. As touched upon above, the first-generation Googlebooks use either Intel Core Ultra 5/7 or Snapdragon X Elite chips.

This is done to aid hardware-accelerated AI workloads, as the dedicated NPUs (Neural Processing Units) onboard these processors feature 47-50 TOPs (Tera of Operations Per Second), meaning the number of calculations for local machine learning. It's needed to give Gemini Intelligence the required horsepower to function, as it's a hardware-integrated operating system layer.

Standard Google Gemini is more of a prompt-based AI chatbot that has several different levels to it. The standard search and response is now called Flash (3.6), whereas you also have the options for Flash-Lite (3.5) for the fastest answers, and 3.1 Pro for "advanced reasoning". There's also the Flash Extended mode for "complex problem solving". Gemini has been available since December 2023, and it's only becoming smarter, faster, and more useful as time goes on. Google just announced Gemini 4 Argon, which is said to be for real-world coding, defense, and enterprise work, so as a platform, it's in an incredibly healthy place, showing no signs of slowing down.

Googlebooks leverage the power of Gemini Intelligence for local AI workloads. All Googlebook early adopters will receive a year of Google AI Pro (which includes Gemini Pro, Nano Banana, and Gemini in Google Drive) as well as 5TB of cloud storage with their AI-powered laptops, too. In other words, if you're looking for machines primarily geared towards AI-accelerated workloads, then there's enough under the hood, with the software that's streamlined for this exact purpose.

It's tough to weigh up Googlebooks against ultrabooks directly because, though the hardware itself is comparable, the software is very different. Googlebooks run on Googlebook OS (which was codenamed Aluminium OS), which is essentially just a fancy wrapper for Android 17. It boils down to having a cell phone UI combined with the look and feel of a laptop.

By comparison, Chromebooks are an outlier to the norm. They run ChromeOS, which is a lightweight operating system for web browsing and everyday computing tasks that utilize Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) for the likes of Gmail, Drive, Meet, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Keep, Notebook, etc. It also means having to rely on the Chrome Web Store rather than getting to use the Google Play Store, or downloading anything external as an executable. Google recently announced that it would be ending support for ChromeOS in mid-2034, so there are still seven years of use from a Chromebook before the device becomes a paperweight. Google has confirmed that some Chromebook devices will get to upgrade to Googlebook OS; however, no further details have been shared.

Googlebooks vs Chromebooks: Design

The design ethos when comparing Googlebooks vs Chromebooks is where you can see the manufacturing differences that are possible when you put money behind a product. As expected, given the fact that you're going to pay anywhere from double (or triple) the starting cost for a Googlebook when compared to a Chromebook, the materials used by the former are significantly better. The five initial Googlebooks all feature 16GB RAM with 512GB of storage at a starting point, and are available in either 14-inch or 15-inch display configurations.

Granular details are where Googlebooks get more exciting, particularly with the Lenovo Googlebook 15 and the HP Googlebook 14. Both of these high-end devices weigh in at 1.2kg and feature OLED touchscreens. Lenovo's model uses an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor and supports up to 13 hours of battery life, whereas HP's effort utilizes the Snapdragon X Elite for up to 19 hours of battery life. The Asus Googlebook 14 is the lightest of the launch crop, weighing in at just 1kg with its 14-inch 3K OLED screen and up to 16 hours of battery playback. There's something of a rough price-to-performance range here, albeit with one strange deviation from the rule.

The Dell XPS Chromebook lacks an OLED display, but still ranks among the most expensive of the launch lineup, with a lower 2.5K resolution compared to the 2.8K or 3K screens of its competitors. Backed by the Snapdragon X Elite, it has a comparable 18-hour battery life akin to the HP Googlebook 14, coming in a touch lighter at 1.09kg, with otherwise the same configured specs.

There's far more variety in what to expect from a Chromebook's design. After all, Google's web-based laptops have been on the market for over 15 years, and as such, manufacturers have figured out every way to deliver different form factors at all price points. All-rounders include the likes of the HP Chromebook Plus 15, which you can get for around $549.99 / £449.99, running a fairly paltry Intel Core i3-N305 CPU with Intel integrated graphics, 8GB RAM, and a Full HD display.

Cheaper Chromebooks can cut this initial cost in half, such as the budget champion Asus Chromebook CX15, which starts at only $159.99 / £249.99 and features an Intel Celeron N4500 CPU, 4GB RAM, and a Full HD display. You'll find the weaker processors in almost all budget and mid-range Chromebooks, particularly the Intel Core i3, Intel Celeron, or the Intel N100. There's also been the adoption of low-powered MediaTek Kompanio processors, which are built on Arm instead; you may see these chips in the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, Lenovo Duet EDU G2, and the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, among others.

Chromebooks have always been an example of getting what you pay for. It means weaker machines with dimmer screens and modest hardware specs for an affordable price tag. Because ChromeOS is all web-based, there's no need for much processing power; however, if a machine has just 4GB or 8GB of RAM, then the overall performance could still feel slow and sluggish, depending on how many Chrome tabs or apps you're running in the background. It's a game of give and take, of compromise, and that's the space that these laptops have confidently occupied since 2011. They'll never rival what the best gaming laptops can do, naturally, but then, they're not in that market at all.

Should you buy a Googlebook or a Chromebook?

It's time to deliver a verdict on whether you should consider a Googlebook or a Chromebook, and I'll keep things as straightforward as possible. If you're a casual computer user who doesn't want to spend too much and primarily works online and has everything conducted through streaming, then an average Chromebook will be more than enough.

However, if you're already thoroughly ingrained in the Gemini ecosystem, use an Android phone, and want a premium laptop with a long battery life, then a Googlebook will likely be a great choice.

As someone who owns a Google Pixel 10 Pro and has become familiar with Gemini Intelligence, I can say firsthand that the technology works well for certain applications. If you already own Google hardware, then a laptop running an Android wrapper won't make any sense (or will be purely redundant aside from the form factor), but if you're looking to be an early adopter, ready for Gemini 4, Gemini Intelligence, and to go all in on AI, then it could be worthwhile for you. It's too early to call whether the wider computing market or the industry will embrace them, but everything revealed this early on shows promise for the right type of user.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #944) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #944) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SNOT
• MONTH
• HIRE
• SPREE
• THRILL
• OTHER

NYT Strands today (game #944) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #944) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #944) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #944, are…

• MIRAGE
• ILLUSION
• CHIMERA
• SPECTER
• PHANTASM
• SPANGRAM:WILLOTHEWISP

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

WILLOTHEWISP was a spangram I didn’t see until the end of what was quite a long game featuring plenty of interesting and well hidden words.

After getting MIRAGE right away I was expecting an easy game, but far from it. Instead, I labored onwards and needed a mid-game hint, which delivered the enigmatic word CHIMERA.

Will-o-the-wisp is a ghostly flickering light seen over bogs, swamps, and marshes at night — a trick of the light that spooks and entrances, not to be confused with a 1970s British children's cartoon series called Willo The Wisp, about a blue ghost voiced by Kenneth Williams and a snooty cat based on Noel Coward. Yes, really.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, October 2, game #943)

• SHIFTY
• COVERT
• DEVIOUS
• STEALTHY
• FURTIVE
• SPANGRAM: SNEAKINGAROUND

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1713) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1713) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1713) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1713) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1713) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1713) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1713, are…

• CHORE
• FLYER
• STICK
• PURSE

I had one of those games today where every word worked out and I didn’t really have to do much thinking.

Much of that was down to my starter words coming up with lots of letters, but the fact that all I had to do was find four words with very common letter combinations also helped.

Daily Sequence today (game #1713) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1713, are…

• TWICE
• BAKER
• SCRUB
• FRISK

Quordle answers: The past 20

• IVORY
• SADLY
• ANGEL
• LLAMA

• Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
• Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #943) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #943) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SKINT
• FISH
• NEEDS
• SAVE
• GOAT
• NEAT

NYT Strands today (game #943) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #943) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #943) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #943, are…

• SHIFTY
• COVERT
• DEVIOUS
• STEALTHY
• FURTIVE
• SPANGRAM: SNEAKINGAROUND

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

I’m not saying that today’s words were hidden in a particular STEALTHY or COVERT way but after getting SHIFTY I hit a blank and resorted to our pal the hint to get moving.

Today’s words can be interpreted in several opposite ways. The first, is as creepy; the kinds of activities a nosey parker or, worse, a Peeping Tom might employ. Alternatively, they can be looked on more positively as the kind of skills a military operative might employ in an undercover operation — not that the Marines are likely to call what they do SNEAKING AROUND!

Today was also notable for an excellent spangram that snailed back on itself — kudos if you spotted it first.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, October 1, game #942)

• BREAK
• CRUMBLE
• COLLAPSE
• DISSOLVE
• FRAGMENT
• SPANGRAM: BEYONDREPAIR

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1712) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1712) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1712) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1712) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1712) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1712) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1712, are…

• IVORY
• SADLY
• ANGEL
• LLAMA

It took me a lot of experimenting before I finally guessed LLAMA.

Part of the process was realizing that there were no common two-letter combinations left available — “plank” would have been my guess if every letter was still in play — so it had to be something unusual, or in this case doubly unusual with its double-L start.

It's all quite embarrassing really, considering that my sister owns three llamas and is quite literally a llama farmer.

Daily Sequence today (game #1712) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1712, are…

• MOUSE
• EVICT
• WAXEN
• LUSTY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER

• Meta closed a woman’s Facebook and Instagram accounts with no warning
• The closed accounts contained 20 years’ worth of ‘digital memories’
• The woman couldn’t contact a human and was forced to use AI chatbots

What would you do if you lost your Facebook and Instagram accounts along with all of the photos, posts, and memories they contained? That’s the prospect faced by one unfortunate woman — a situation made even worse by the actions of Meta’s AI chatbots.

When Jasmine Ault checked her phone in the middle of the night, she was greeted by a notification saying her Facebook and Instagram accounts had been permanently disabled, taking 20 years of personal data and contacts with them.

Ault attempted to contact Meta to rectify the situation, but found herself passed from pillar to post and unable to secure a resolution. In fact, Ault found herself completely shut out by Meta’s customer service and could only talk to an AI chatbot that couldn't fix it. Even after paying for expedited service, Ault was unable to get through to a human.

“It feels like I’ve lost everything in a metaphorical fire with my digital albums and my digital memories,” Ault told CBC News. “And who’s going to protect those if I can only speak to AI?”

Ault appealed the ban but says she received a summary judgment just minutes later declaring that her case had been closed and that there was no possibility of any further appeals. And with that, she had seemingly run out of options.

An opaque, uncaring system

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a case like this. Social media is awash with reports of people being erroneously banned from Meta’s platforms without any means of recourse — there’s even a dedicated subreddit for it.

With Meta rolling out AI across its platforms, it’s likely that situations like this will continue. Many people have accused AI moderation tools of incorrectly flagging users’ accounts, which might be one cause of the distress.

Part of the problem is the opaqueness of Meta’s actions. While Ault received a message saying her account was banned for breaking the platform’s rules, she was never informed which specific rules had been broken or how. She told CBC that she stayed awake for 26 hours straight in an attempt to restore her accounts — and all the memories contained therein — back to working order.

Yet Ault has been unable to resolve the situation. Speaking to CBC, she said “it feels almost sick to me that they just think, like, ‘We can just shut these people’s accounts down, they can’t get through to us and talk to us,’ and it’s people’s lifelines. It’s people’s memories. It’s people’s everything.”

If you’re concerned something similar might happen to you, it would be worth downloading your Facebook and Instagram data so that you have a backup. You never know when Meta might send everything to the digital incinerator and leave you stuck with an unsympathetic AI chatbot.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1711) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1711, are…

• NAVEL
• SHEER
• BIRTH
• TACKY

When you get stuck on a word with a missing letter and can’t see anything that would work, the key is invariably the letter V.

Two years into my Quordle obsession and I am still ignoring it, and today I spent ages ruling out every other combination before I final gazed upon NAVEL.

Daily Sequence today (game #1711) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1711, are…

• CLUNG
• SLURP
• WHEAT
• RECAP

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #942) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #942) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• OBEY
• CRUEL
• CORN
• SLAP
• REAL
• MATES

NYT Strands today (game #942) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #942) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #942) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #942, are…

• BREAK
• CRUMBLE
• COLLAPSE
• DISSOLVE
• FRAGMENT
• SPANGRAM: BEYONDREPAIR

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 hints

I eventually got the spangram after multiple stages of feeling myself towards it — pair, then repair, then on repair, then finally BEYONDREPAIR. Once I’d made it, my gameplay felt the same way.

I was also slow to get going, but after finding half a dozen non-game words I took the lazy person’s way out and grabbed two hints: BREAk and CRUMBLE. From here it was easier, but I didn’t have my finest of days.

In the West we find the idea of things falling apart depressing, but in Japan there is a term — wabi-sabi — for taking pleasure and beauty in the natural decay and weathering of objects and displaying the patina of life. It’s lovely.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, September 30, game #941)

• CAPO
• PICK
• GUITAR
• DRUMS
• PIANO
• SYNTH
• AMPLIFIER
• SPANGRAM: MUSICSTORE

Devolo WiFi 7 Mesh BE6500: one-minute review

Devolo is best known for its range of PowerLine adaptors and range extenders but, as the name suggests, its new WiFi 7 Mesh BE6500 steps up to provide a full mesh Wi-Fi system for homes that need to extend their Wi-Fi coverage beyond the range of a single conventional router.

Wi-Fi 7 has been around for a few years now, but high-end tri-band routers that support the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz frequency bands are still quite expensive.

So, like a number of Wi-Fi 7 routers and mesh systems that we’ve seen recently, the BE6500 keeps its price down by offering just dual-band Wi-Fi instead. However, it takes a slightly different approach from many of its dual-band rivals by giving you a choice about which frequency bands you can use.

You can opt to use the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands together to ensure compatibility with older devices that only support Wi-Fi 5 or 6. Alternatively, you can switch to using 2.4GHz and the faster 6.0GHz band for newer computers and mobile devices that support Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.

That’s a good option for future-proofing your home network, as it will let you use the BE6500 with older computers and mobile devices while still providing an upgrade path for newer devices you may buy in the future.

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Price & release date

• Released in May 2026
• Available in EU and UK
• Three-pack costs £369.99/€399.90

Devolo products are widely available within the UK and Europe, but the company doesn’t currently operate in the US.

The Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500 is available as a two-pack containing two BE6500 routers for £249.99/€269.90. Devolo doesn’t quote the precise area covered by that two-pack option, merely saying that it is suitable for ‘small-to-medium’ homes.

However, I tested the three-pack option for ‘larger’ homes, which costs £369.99/€399.90. If required, you can further extend your mesh network by buying additional BE6500 routers, costing £129.99/€149.90 each. Those prices are very competitive when compared to rivals in a similar price range, such as Amazon’s Eero 7 and the Netgear Orbi 373, which only support dual-band Wi-Fi 7 on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

• Value score: 4/5

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Specs

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Design

• Compact design
• Four Ethernet ports per router
• Setup is a bit fussy

The BE6500 routers are neatly designed, with each plain white unit standing 175mm high, 118mm wide and 72mm deep, so they will fit comfortably onto any convenient table or shelf.

The routers look identical, with four Ethernet ports located on the side, including a 2.5Gbps port for high-speed broadband connections and three 1Gb ports to provide a local (LAN) connection for devices, such as a games console or PC, that may work better with a lag-free wired connection.

However, one of the routers is labelled as the ‘Controller’, and this router will need to be connected to your existing broadband router or modem in order to use its internet connection.

Setting up the Controller router is fairly straightforward, as Devolo’s Home Network app for iOS/Android allows you to simply scan a QR code to connect to the Controller. However, adding the other two routers – referred to as ‘Extensions’ – requires a little more effort.

The app tells you to plug both of the Extension routers into a mains power supply close to the Controller, but it can only connect one Extension to your network at a time. This means that you have to go through the process of connecting the first Extension to your network, and then unplug it so that you can move it to another location, and then repeat the same process for the second Extension.

We’ve seen other mesh Wi-Fi systems that can automatically connect multiple routers in order to create your new network for you, so Devolo could do more to simplify the initial set-up process.

• Design score: 4/5

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Features

• App is a bit confusing
• Some features are enabled via a browser

The setup process was also unclear how to choose the frequency bands that are used for your new network.

The app doesn’t ask which frequencies you would like to use, but after randomly tapping buttons within the app for a while I did find a mention of the fact that the network was using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

However, there was no option within the app to switch to the 6.0GHz band instead, so I had to connect a laptop to the Devolo network using the default 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, and then use a web browser to view more detailed network settings.

And, again, after some more random button tapping, I did find an option that allowed me to switch to using the 2.4GHz and 6.0GHz bands instead. The browser interface also includes other features, such as a QoS option – Quality Of Service – that allows you to prioritise tasks such as gaming or streaming video.

That’s not a very user-friendly approach though, and may well be confusing for people who aren’t used to configuring their network via a web browser interface, so Devolo needs to make its app more straightforward for new users.

• Features score: 4/5

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Performance

The BE6500 could certainly be more user-friendly, but I can’t fault its performance, and the three-pack system that I tested worked a treat for tackling the Wi-Fi deadspot that I have in an office towards the back of my building.

Devices in the same room as my normal broadband router can generally achieve the full 150Mbps available with my office broadband service both for Steam downloads and the Ookla Speed Test.

My aging router struggles to reach that back office though, so I have to rely on PowerLine adaptors to provide a more reliable wired network connection.

I placed one of the BE6500 Extension routers in that office, with the second placed roughly halfway between the back office and the main Controller router. Steam downloads did slow down a little initially, when using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, dipping to 130Mbps as I walked along the corridor with my laptop, but quickly recovered to hit 150Mbps once more.

That pattern was repeated with the Ookla Speed Test as well. Performance was even better when I switched to using the 2.4GHz and 6.0GHz bands, with the BE6500 trio maintaining a smooth 150Mbps throughout my tests.

Some people might prefer a true tri-band router or mesh system that allows you to use the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands simultaneously. That will be more expensive though, and if you need an affordable Wi-Fi upgrade that can cover a larger home with reliable Wi-Fi, then the BE6500 is good value for money.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should I buy the Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: September 2026

• You can now order the first Wi-Fi 8 router
• TP-Link's Archer 8 Ultra is available to buy in the UK and Australia, along with some other countries
• In the UK it's priced at £899.99 / AU$1,499, but you can get the router for £669.99 currently if you pre-order

TP-Link is now selling the first Wi-Fi 8 router to come onto the market, although the very latest wireless tech won't come cheap as you might expect.

The TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra is available to buy in the UK and Australia, as well as Germany and some other countries (not yet specified by the router manufacturer).

Pricing will naturally vary by region, but the cost in the UK is £669.99 if you place a pre-order now, although that price tag will be bumped up to £899.99 later on. In Australia, pre-orders are open now, with the Archer 8 Ultra priced at AU$1,499.99. There's no indication of a price bump once the router officially launches.

With the Archer 8 Ultra you get Wi-Fi 8 coverage of up to 3,600 square feet (or 3,000 square feet in Europe). In case you weren't aware, this new wireless standard is about improving performance in different ways other than raw speed.

The key advantages for Wi-Fi 8 over Wi-Fi 7 are that it deals more capably with interference in crowded signal-dense environments, and it's more reliable with a greater number of client devices connected. Wi-Fi 8 also ensures that there's a better signal at the extremities of the network.

TP-Link has told us a bit more about what its Wi-Fi 8 StabilityEngine tech achieves in the Archer 8 Ultra, noting the presence of features such as UEQM, MCS, and 2×LDPC. These are designed to "hold throughput steady in a noisy home, delivering up to 33% more consistent throughput at mid-to-long ranges and up to 24% more consistent throughput than Wi-Fi 7 under interference."

You don't really need to know the ins-and-outs of the various acronyms involved, save to say that they help the Wi-Fi signal drop off less sharply as you move further away from the router, and they cut down on dropped network packets (helping to keep a more stable connection).

TP-Link also boasts about its Multi-Floor Mode feature, which reshapes the Wi-Fi signal to take into account where devices are actually present. The firm says that this directs coverage to multiple floors when devices are spread over different levels, but it flattens to a "wide single-floor pattern" when they're not.

TP-Link further observes that as the Wi-Fi 8 standard matures – it's still in its draft form right now – firmware updates will be applied to the Archer 8 Ultra to keep it up to speed.

The Archer 8 Ultra also comes with the Aireal AI Assistant which allows less technically inclined users to employ natural language queries to understand and tweak their Wi-Fi coverage. This AI also keeps a constant eye on how the router is performing and continuously optimizes and prioritizes wireless traffic, with other benefits such as an Eco mode to bring power usage right down at night when everyone's asleep.

On the security front, this router has an integrated VPN at the hardware level encrypting the traffic of selected devices (it works with third-party VPNs too, if you already have one). Smart gadgets (Internet of Things devices), with their greater levels of potential security risks, are kept on their own network away from the main network (and the guest network is separate too, as you'd imagine).

There's also an optional TP-Link HomeShield service which offers real-time protection for your devices as well as parental controls.

Analysis: is it worth getting on board with the future of Wi-Fi today?

With the Archer 8 Ultra now on pre-order, it's likely that the mesh Wi-Fi system TP-Link also revealed at IFA 2026 – the Deco 8 Ultra – won't be that far behind.

The price tag is predictably high with the Archer 8 Ultra, though, albeit pre-ordering does get you a pretty chunky discount. (The same will doubtless be true of the Deco 8 Ultra when it pitches up – the price of that will also depend on how many units you need based on the size of your home).

At any rate, now the Archer 8 Ultra can be yours, should you rush to pre-order to benefit from all the mentioned Wi-Fi 8 goodies? Well, no, because there isn't any consumer hardware (phones, tablets, laptops) that supports Wi-Fi 8 yet, and you need those client devices as well as the actual router. They won't arrive until next year, and they'll be thin on the ground even then.

So buying this TP-Link router right now is more about being future-proofed than anything else (though you will get some slight benefits from the Archer 8 Ultra with current Wi-Fi 7 or earlier devices). The thing is that if you're prepared to wait, the hefty early adopter premium on the Archer 8 Ultra (or other Wi-Fi 8 routers) will lessen, and really, that's your best bet as I've previously discussed at length.

If you do fancy grabbing the Archer 8 Ultra, though, definitely make sure you get that cheaper pre-order price.

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #941) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #941) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SLIP
• RINK
• CRIER
• ROUND
• FUSE
• FAMILY

NYT Strands today (game #941) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #941) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #941) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #941, are…

• CAPO
• PICK
• GUITAR
• DRUMS
• PIANO
• SYNTH
• AMPLIFIER
• SPANGRAM: MUSICSTORE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I have only been in a MUSICSTORE twice in my life and on both occasions it was to buy the cheapest thing they sold — a guitar PICK, or “plectrum” as we liked to call them in my brief-lived teenage band.

I played the bass even though I only knew two bass lines, something called “walking bass” and the hook of Peaches by The Stranglers. I was terrible, and didn’t improve over the two months of our existence.

Anyway, I digress. I did originally think the theme may be connected to instrumental classics such as Green Onions or Tequila, but CAPO ended that assumption. Then, after getting PICK I thought it might be about musical accessories, but thankfully GUITAR and PIANO stopped that as I couldn't think of any more musical accessories — well, until I managed to spot AMPLIFIER.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, September 29, game #940)

• PRESSURE
• BLOOD
• VEIN
• PULSE
• ARTERY
• ATRIUM
• SPANGRAM: CARDIOVASCULAR

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1710) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1710, are…

• CHOKE
• BATCH
• MOSSY
• EAGER

A close call today as I struggled to guess EAGER.

Fortunately I only had a few letters left, but if it had been possible I would most definitely have guessed “lager” or “cager”. A lack of options saved me.

Daily Sequence today (game #1710) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1710, are…

• STOLE
• UNDUE
• JOIST
• SERIF

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1709) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1709, are…

• BILGE
• MEDAL
• LODGE
• PORCH

My three starter words gave me an excellent head start today, with every word becoming highly gettable from the beginning.

Best of all was BILGE — probably my favorite old man insult and also a reminder of an art-punk band called Bilge Pump that I saw once at a music festival. What a great name for a band. Also a great name for a piece of equipment that removes unwanted water that collects in the lowest part of a boat's hull

Daily Sequence today (game #1709) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1709, are…

• TRUCE
• LARVA
• LUNAR
• GLAND

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #940) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #940) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• VERDANT
• DIARY
• CLASS
• CARVED
• SCUM
• TRAY

NYT Strands today (game #940) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #940) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #940) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #940, are…

• PRESSURE
• BLOOD
• VEIN
• PULSE
• ARTERY
• ATRIUM
• SPANGRAM: CARDIOVASCULAR

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I donate blood every now and then, so I was quite familiar with this hearty vocabulary — but I’ll be honest, when I think of the word atrium I imagine a large glass roof in a shopping mall rather than a chamber of the heart.

These six letters aside I whizzed through this game, though. It was also a pleasure to see the heartbeat-styled 14-letter spangram made up of a single word rather than two or three.

Adding to the enjoyment was a bounty of interesting non-game words. I was particularly thrilled to get “verdant” as this is far longer than my usual spots.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, September 28, game #939)

• WOOD
• CLAY
• GLASS
• SOAPSTONE
• BRONZE
• MARBLE
• SPANGRAM: SCULPTURE

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1708) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1708, are…

• BRUNT
• TORSO
• STONE
• HEATH

Words beginning in T and ending in O always look exotic to me — possibly because the one that I’d first think of would be tango.

There are also two brilliant cities in Tokyo and Tromso, which today’s most difficult-to-get word, TORSO, shares some of its letters with.

Daily Sequence today (game #1708) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1708, are…

• TEDDY
• BLUFF
• CHOCK
• OTHER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #939) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #939) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• TALES
• SPOT
• TONE
• SUGAR
• BRAG
• POSTAL

NYT Strands today (game #939) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #939) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #939) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #939, are…

• WOOD
• CLAY
• GLASS
• SOAPSTONE
• BRONZE
• MARBLE
• SPANGRAM: SCULPTURE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Some NYT crossover here, as yesterday we had a Sculpture Media category in Connections — although plaster was missing from that particular group of four.

Regardless, it still took me a while to realize that we were looking for materials, a failing that’s highlighted by the fact that I had both soap and stone in my list of non-game words before realizing that SOAPSTONE was a thing.

Anyway, this poor piece of gameplay aside this was a relatively easy search and a nice start to the week.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, September 27, game #938)

• SUNSCREEN
• MOISTURIZER
• CLEANSER
• SERUM
• TONER
• SPANGRAM: BEAUTYCARE

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1707) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1707, are…

• VALET
• CHEST
• VIGIL
• PUREE

I took this game very slowly and it paid off. I was particularly pleased about getting VALET, as the letter V is one I’ve suffered a strange blindness to in the past.

My only risk was guessing PUREE instead of “purge”, a good one as it turned out.

Daily Sequence today (game #1707) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1707, are…

• STRAW
• OVERT
• FEWER
• SAINT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #938) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #938) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SUET
• CLEAR
• TRACE
• STIR
• RAISE
• ROUTE
• NOSE

NYT Strands today (game #938) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #938) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #938) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #938, are…

• SUNSCREEN
• MOISTURIZER
• CLEANSER
• SERUM
• TONER
• SPANGRAM: BEAUTYCARE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I would normally begin by finding words connected to any rare letters or double-letter combinations, but in today’s game it was impossible to ignore SUNSCREEN in the top left-hand corner.

From here I moved on to MOISTURIZER and then realised with these two finds I had exhausted my knowledge of skincare products.

Fortunately, these two spots opened up the spangram and CLEANSER. I did get the final two words without a hint, but even though they were both just five letters long it took me a stupidly long time to uncover SERUM and TONER.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, September 26, game #937)

• BREEZE
• ZEPHYR
• GUST
• WHIFF
• PUFF
• FLURRY
• CURRENT
• SPANGRAM: GENTLEWIND

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1706) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1706, are…

• SNORT
• BIBLE
• LAPSE
• CRANE

I had one of those moments here where I was absolutely certain I would be seeing the bouncy letters that mean you have completed the game.

Aptly, however, my guess of “false” turned out to be completely wrong.

Fortunately, I had space for a mistake.

Daily Sequence today (game #1706) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1706, are…

• GLEAM
• GOUGE
• DWELL
• ROGUE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #937) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #937) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• CURE
• FEEL
• PREY
• BREW
• DICE
• SWIFT

NYT Strands today (game #937) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #937) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #937) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #937, are…

• BREEZE
• ZEPHYR
• GUST
• WHIFF
• PUFF
• FLURRY
• CURRENT
• SPANGRAM: GENTLEWIND

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I began, as I’m sure most players did, by finding the words linked to the two letter Zs.

However, while BREEZE was a breeze, ZEPHYR was not something I would have got without the fact that its letters connected straight down.

ZEPHYR is, like all of today’s game words, a way of describing a GENTLEWIND — but prior to today its only appearance in my life was in The Zephyr Song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which seemed to imply it was some kind of magical vehicle we could fly away on.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, September 25, game #936)

• NINE
• TWENTYFIVE
• FOUR
• EIGHTYONE
• THIRTYSIX
• SPANGRAM: SQUARENUMBER

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1705) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1705, are…

• SWEAR
• FLOOD
• GUPPY
• GROAN

A close call today.

Even though I only had nine letters left — and four of them were J,Q, X and Z — I still made very hard work of getting GUPPY. In my defense, though, “gummy” is a far more likely word, isn't it?

Daily Sequence today (game #1705) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1705, are…

• CAROL
• RAVEN
• PARER
• PERKY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #936) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #936) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• BEST
• REST
• FARE
• BARE
• THEY
• STIR

NYT Strands today (game #936) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #936) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #936) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #936, are…

• NINE
• TWENTYFIVE
• FOUR
• EIGHTYONE
• THIRTYSIX
• SPANGRAM: SQUARENUMBER

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Is it just me or is this game missing a few words?

We have FOUR, which is the SQUARENUMBER of two, and NINE (the square of three), but then we miss sixteen (the square of four) before jumping back in again with TWENTYFIVE (the square of five) and THIRTYSIX (the square of six). However, we then skip seven and eight, before resuming with EIGHTYONE, the square of nine.

Maybe I'm overthinking this…

Anyway, this quibble aside, the hardest aspect of this game was trying to find the non-game words for this column. There really were barely any, so I hope you didn’t need hints.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, September 24, game #935)

• SANDBOX
• TREEHOUSE
• SWINGS
• POOL
• TRAMPOLINE
• FORT
• SPANGRAM: BACKYARD

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1704) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1704, are…

• TOPIC
• METRO
• SCALP
• FREED

I should have known better than to risk using a rare letter, but after the letter J appeared yesterday I followed a hunch and guessed “toxic”.

Fortunately, my hunches paid off after getting TOPIC, although I did come close to incorrectly submitting “retro” instead of METRO.

Daily Sequence today (game #1704) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1704, are…

• BLURB
• KRILL
• ENEMY
• QUART

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #935) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #935) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• HOBO
• WINK
• WINGS
• TRACK
• FAME
• TRAP

NYT Strands today (game #935) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #935) - hint #4 - spangram position

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #935) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #935, are…

• SANDBOX
• TREEHOUSE
• SWINGS
• POOL
• TRAMPOLINE
• FORT
• SPANGRAM: BACKYARD

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

The first word I saw on the board was “tree”, but fortunately I wasn’t switched on enough to see the adjoining word “house” and put them together.

I say 'fortunately', because in the absence of spotting a game word I did see the spangram and gave a little whoop of joy as the letters turned yellow.

This was also quite a melancholy game for me, as it reminded me of all the clutter that used to fill up my BACKYARD that is no longer there — a sign that my kids have grown up and no longer need a SANDBOX or SWINGS or the safety nightmare that is a TRAMPOLINE.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, September 23, game #934)

• BYGONE
• ARCHAIC
• ANCIENT
• PRIMEVAL
• TIMEWORN
• SPANGRAM: THATSOLDNEWS

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1703) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1703, are…

• SHEET
• BLAND
• JOIST
• GUAVA

I suffered from temporary insanity playing today’s game, in thinking that we needed not one but two rare letters.

Such was the shock of seeing a letter J that I risked a word beginning with Q — and when that was wrong, I remembered that common Quordle game word of GUAVA. It’s been a while since we’ve seen it, but thankfully it was still in my memory bank.

Daily Sequence today (game #1703) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1703, are…

• DRIFT
• TRIAL
• MOSSY
• PAUSE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
• Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA