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A Potato Chip Taste Test

Casey Elsass cookbook author

We take potatoes very seriously here at Cup of Jo, so we enlisted Casey Elsass — recipe developer and food writer extraordinaire — to help us find the best potato chips out there. Casey has worked on over 20 cookbooks, and when it comes to party snacks, no one does it better (this is the man behind Mosaic Jell-O and hot-fudge gifts). With his finely tuned palate, he set out to rank five grocery-store chip brands. And the winner surprised us all…

potato chip taste test

The Contenders:
Five widely available potato-chip brands — original salted flavor only. I also nixed ridged chips or any specialty varieties.

A Potato-Chip Taste Test

The Methodology:
As with our last taste test, I set out blind samples, each numbered and coded to a key that I kept to myself. Sliced cucumber and plain sparkling water were available for palate-cleansing between tastes. In addition to ranking the samples, I asked Casey to weigh in on saltiness, crunch, and potato flavor.

The Duds
5th Place: Utz
4th Place: Zapp’s

We’ll start with the bad news: Both Utz and Zapp’s were total flops. “Utz has potato flavor and nothing else,” Casey said. “Not much salt, and it’s pretty dry — like a potato cracker.” The Zapp’s chips were deemed very stale-tasting, even from a freshly opened bag. “They taste like they’ve been sitting out,” said Casey. “Also, for me, they’re too crunchy.” The good news for both these brands is that we all love them for their other work: Zapp’s Voodoo chips are one-of-a-kind, and no one does pretzels like Utz. We’ll let them stick to that, and leave the potato-chip business to our top three, which are…

A Potato-Chip Taste Test

The Saltiest
3rd Place: Wise

This one seemed a little too salty on first bite: “My dream chip is salty, but salt should be a secondary flavor. With this one, it’s immediate.” But the Wise chips grew on Casey (and on me — though I kept my thoughts to myself during the proceedings!). It was the one he kept coming back to reconsider and was a strong contender for second place. Until…

A Potato-Chip Taste Test

The Silver Medalist
2nd Place: Boulder Canyon

Who knew?! These chips have been around for 30 years, but are still comparative newbies in the century-old American potato-chip industry. “Mmm!” Casey said, visibly surprised when he first tried them. “This one’s very light — crispy, but in a snappy way. And it has a good balance of potato and salt.” These chips were so good that Casey very nearly gave Boulder the crown. He did a palate cleanse, then a side-by-side comparison with his other top pick, just to be sure. And in the end, although Boulder chips were excellent, the winner, no question, was…

The Slam-Dunk Favorite
1st Place: Lay’s

“Yes, this is it,” Casey said. “They have perfect crunch, and the flavor progression is ideal: oil, potato, salt. They look so light that you expect them to be too airy, but the crispiness is spot on.” After sampling them, Casey suspected they might be Lay’s, specifically because of that subtle perfection. “If you’ve ever been to Italy, the big thing there is ‘aperitivo,’ a before-dinner ritual, where you have your spritz and some little snacks. And I’m almost positive that everyone in Italy is serving Lay’s.” While I cannot confirm Casey’s Aperitivo Theory, I believe it. I always thought of Lay’s as oil-heavy, but this test proved me wrong (as our colleague Alison put it, “It’s shocking how much better these are than the others”). On overall satisfaction, Lay’s were — to the official and unofficial testers — the stand-out favorite. When the taste test was over, we sat around in the garden and finished the whole bag.

Casey Elsass

Thank you so much for your expertise, Casey! So, friends, do you agree with these findings? And what snack, dessert, or ingredient shall we put to the test next?

P.S. Many more taste tests, and THE best summer dessert to bring over.

(Thank you to Alison for letting us use your garden!)

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Google Pixel 11: Every rumor, leak, and confirmed fact ahead of Made By Google

Samsung just announced a bunch of fancy new phones, but don’t relax just yet. Google has a big product launch just around the corner too, and we’re keeping a close eye on the latest Pixel 11 leaks, rumors, and official teasers.

The Android maker has already confirmed that it will announce the next batch of Pixel phones in August. That means we have just a matter of weeks until the follow-up to the Pixel 10 lineup is unveiled, so you’d better get prepared in the meantime. Here is everything we know about the Google Pixel 11 right now.

Google Pixel 11: Release date and price

The first part of this is easy because Google isn’t keeping the Pixel 11 launch window a secret. At 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 12 in New York City, Google is holding a Made By Google event where the Pixel 11 lineup will be shown off for the first time, and Mashable will be there reporting live.

Last year’s event was hosted by Jimmy Fallon, for some reason, so you never know what to expect this time. You can watch Made By Google live on YouTube, or follow the news as it happens on Mashable. The phones should be on store shelves or in your hands less than a month after that.

As with last year, we expect to see four phones: the base Pixel 11, a Pro and Pro XL model, and a Pro Fold model.

Regarding price, we live in a RAMageddon world, so it sounds like there may be some mild price increases in the works. We don’t know the official figures yet, but a recent Amazon leak (which we will return to throughout this piece because, holy mackerel, what a leak!) gave us these figures:

  • Google Pixel 11: $899

  • Google Pixel 11 Pro: $1,099

  • Google Pixel 11 Pro XL: $1,299

  • Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: $1,899

Unfortunately, all of those are increases year over year compared to the Pixel 10. The Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, and Pro XL are all $100 more to start than they were a year ago. Meanwhile, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, if this leak is to be believed, will cost $400 more than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Ouch.

Google Pixel 11: What’s up with Pixel Glow?

Before we get into detailed (and unconfirmed) specs for each device, there’s basically one noteworthy design change that we expect to see across all four devices this year. According to both leaks and some imagery on Google’s own pre-order page, Google is going all-in on something called Pixel Glow with the Pixel 11 series.

In terms of design, that means the horizontal camera bar seen on previous Pixel phones will change a little bit to accommodate a new multi-colored light module. This module will use lights of different shades to notify you of things like incoming messages, presumably while your phone is turned over and you don’t feel like looking at a screen.

Google actually gave everyone an official sneak peek at Pixel Glow a couple of weeks before the event. In a brief teaser video that shows part of a Pixel 11 Pro, you can see a small, multi-colored light in the camera bar. While the video is very brief and vague, it’s clear from the video that we are looking at Pixel Glow.

Google Pixel 11: Base model rumored specs

The aforementioned Amazon leak included since-removed store pages for each device in the Pixel 11 family, with colors and specs galore. Let’s start with the base Pixel 11, whose array of color options has been reported with different names, but basically comes out to black, gray, pink, and green. Another leaker called MysticLeaks posted a bunch of alleged specs on Telegram.

Based on both of these leaks, these could be the specs for the base Pixel 11:

It’s worth noting that there are some small discrepancies between what Amazon posted and what MysticLeaks reported for all of these devices, especially regarding display resolution and battery size. When in doubt, this article is going by what was posted on Amazon.

The display, battery, and selfie camera specs all come from the Amazon leak, while the Tensor G6 chip would make sense as the natural follow-up to the Tensor G5 chip in last year’s Pixel flagships. At the time of publication, there don’t seem to be any credible leaks regarding the other camera specs for the base Pixel 11, aside from what’s listed above.

None of the above is horribly surprising or all that different from the Pixel 10, either. All signs are pointing to a pretty incremental upgrade cycle in 2026, Pixel Glow aside.

Google Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL: Rumored specs

Google is also reportedly planning on two Pro variants, as in previous years. The color options here are reportedly called Olive, Obsidian, Canyon, and Fog. Here is what both Amazon and MysticLeaks had to say about the regular Pixel 11 Pro:

And here are the reported specs for Pixel 11 Pro XL. The XL is usually just a bigger, slightly improved version of the Pro:

The main attraction here, at least as it relates to year-over-year changes, is that Google seems to be offering a new 12GB RAM variant of the Pro devices. Prior to this year, they just came with 16GB RAM. Perhaps models with less storage capacity will only come with 12GB this year as a way to save money on the manufacturing end of things.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Rumored specs

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold on a table

Google isn’t folding from the competition.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Lastly, Google is making another foldable this year, if every leak is to be believed. Here are the reported specs for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, which could have color variants called Obsidian and Olive:

This is the one we know the least about, sadly. Given Samsung’s recent excellence in the foldable field and the rumored price increase for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, it’s going to have to do a lot to impress in a crowded market. We’ll find out together on Aug. 12.

Remember: Mashable will be reporting live from the Made By Google event, so keep checking back for the latest Pixel 11 news, leaks, and rumors.


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New York sues Kalshi, claiming its unlicensed gambling

On Friday, New York state filed a lawsuit against prediction market platform Kalshi, claiming that it’s operating as an “unlicensed gambling business.”

The Office of Attorney General Letitia James found that Kalshi is an illegal prediction market that exposes New Yorkers to “serious personal and financial risk,” according to a press release. The lawsuit seeks fines, the forfeit of all illegal gains, and restitution to members.

The suit claims that Kalshi’s prediction markets meet the legal definition of gambling “because the outcomes of the events on which its users are betting are uncertain and outside the control of the bettor or hinge on a game of chance.” But the platform hasn’t obtained a license from the New York State Gaming Commission. It also states that Kalshi is available to adults aged 18-20, while New York law requires users to be at least 21 to bet on sports.

“Kalshi has chosen to ignore New York’s gaming laws, which exist to protect consumers, prevent problematic gambling, deliver funding for critical public services, and ensure that every company plays by the same rules,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in the press release. “This choice has consequences, and working closely with Attorney General James, New York is taking action to stop this illegal behavior and bring Kalshi into compliance, because no company is above the law.”

“No matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple. By ignoring our laws, Kalshi is running an illegal operation and harming New Yorkers in the process,” James said in the press release. “We are taking them to court to uphold our laws and protect New Yorkers.”

Friday’s lawsuit comes after New York sued Coinbase and Gemini for similar allegations in April. It also comes after Kalshi sued New York state in Oct., according to CNBC, following New York’s Gambling Commission’s cease-and-desist letter to the company. A judge denied the company’s request for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against the commission in July.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), an agency of the federal government, has now sued New York, as it considers prediction markets to fall within its jurisdiction. “Rather than seek reasoned answers from the courts, Letitia James and New York seek to force an unprecedented, sudden shutdown of prediction markets nationwide,” CFTC chairman Mike Selig posted on X. “The [CFTC] has already sued to stop this and will continue to defend its jurisdiction.”

“It’s sad to see this type of political theater from the leadership in our own state,” a Kalshi spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. “States can’t just shut down a federally licensed exchange… We love New York, we love New Yorkers, and New Yorkers love our product.”

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Google rolls back AI Google Earth feature a day after launch

After Google added its AI image generator, Nano Banana, to Google Earth on Thursday, it reversed its decision a day later.

Google announced the addition of Nano Banana 2 into its mapping platform, presumably to help users generate infographics about a site, see what it looked like historically, generate real estate ideas, and other use cases. Instead, as 404 Media observed, it made it very easy to inject misinformation into Google Earth, including making it appear like a nuclear strike had hit a location or that protests had taken over Google’s offices.

On Thursday, Google seemed to try to smooth out the kinks, sharing on Thursday night on X that “every image created with Nano Banana in Google Earth includes the SynthID digital watermark, so if someone is unsure about an image, they can ask the Gemini app or use Lens in Search to see if the image was AI-generated.” It also stated that it prevents image creation on “harmful topics.”

However, come Friday afternoon, Google announced on X that it was removing the feature:

We know that people uniquely trust Google Earth for a reliable view of the world. We’ve seen geospatial professionals using this feature for a range of useful purposes, however we’ve also seen people sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appear to violate our policies. So we’re rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails. It’s important to note that generated images didn’t appear in the main Google Earth experience for others to see and were watermarked as AI generated.

The backlash to the initial decision was quick. Replies to the rollback post on X include Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch saying,You guys are living in a complete bubble. Step outside Silicon Valley for two seconds and you’ll realize no actual human wants AI sludge crammed into every corner of every product. Touch grass. Talk to actual people.”

Another top reply read, “There is 0 chance that no one on your development team didn’t raise exactly this concern.”

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