Entertainment
The best webcams in 2025
This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.
When it comes to webcams, there’s one thing you can rely on: The webcam built into your computer isn’t up to scratch. At least, not if you need it for professional purposes, whether that means video meetings or YouTube content creating.
The good news is that you don’t have settle for subpar video every time you hop on a call or drop your latest short. There is another way: an external webcam.
External webcams are clearer, more detailed, more advanced, and just, well, better. Before you buy one, however, there are a few basics you’ll need to know. Here’s some helpful information, plus a selection of the best webcams, to put you in the picture.
What is an external webcam?
An external webcam clips on the top of your screen or sits on a little tripod and plugs in via USB or Thunderbolt, rather than being a part of your computer or laptop. Most external webcams — especially high-quality cams — come with software that lets you manually adjust features, resolution, frames rate, white balance, exposure, and so on. Ultimately, an external webcam can be an easy way to make your video quality better and more consistent.
Are external webcams expensive?
They don’t have to be expensive. There are webcams on the cheaper end out there that are still a step up from built-in webcams. Of course, the more you pay, the clearer the image and greater the customisation options, but upgrading to an external webcam doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot.
What features do webcams have?
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s useful to keep these things in mind when shopping for a webcam:
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Built-in mics — Some cameras come with one built-in mic, two built-in mics, or no mics at all. If crisp sound quality is important to you, spring for an external USB microphone. Webcam mics are never really built to wow. However, if your computer setup has no mic at all, grab a webcam that comes with one so you can make sure you’re being heard on your calls. Some mics also have noise cancelling capabilities to cut out ambient background interference.
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Field of view — If you want a webcam that frames you nicely (as in, not so small that the smallest adjustment will cut you out of the picture, and not so big you see the whole room in the background) check out the field of view, which describes the width of the area a camera captures. The standard sweet spot on most webcams hovers around 80 degrees, which can fit about two people comfortably.
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Image resolution and frame rate — There are a few image resolutions you’ll come across, including 720p (HD), 1080p (Full HD), and 4K (UHD). As you might have guessed, the higher the resolution, the higher the picture quality. While the image resolution is all about clarity, frame rate is all about smoothness. Typically, a higher frame rate like 60fps looks smoothest, though 30fps will still offer lag-free video. Only the highest quality webcams support 4K/30 fps and most video call/streaming platforms support 1080p/30fps.
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Lighting — If you find that your facial features are almost always lost to overexposure or that your image looks so dark you’re giving villain-in-a-found-film-horror-movie-energy (absolutely a vibe but maybe not the one you want on client calls), look out for webcams that handle changing light conditions well or have software that allows you to adjust contrast, exposure, and white balance.
Keep these things in mind when beginning your purchase process.
Are webcams a security risk?
There isn’t a greater privacy risk with an external webcam than a built-in webcam. But with any webcams, external or otherwise, you should be aware that webcam hacks are very much a thing, even if you don’t have your camera on. The rule of thumb is that if you have a webcam, you should be covering it every time it’s not in use. There are external covers you can buy for most kinds of webcams and some webcams.
What is the best webcam?
We’ve searched high and low for the very best webcams and lined up a selection for you. There should be something for everyone and every budget in this roundup, including popular models from top brands such as Logitech, Anker, and Razer.
These are the best webcams in 2025.
Entertainment
Raunchy 1970s Cult Classic Changed Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Forever
By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated
The 70s was an odd time for sci-fi movies. On the one hand, the genre had broken free of the generic 50s mad scientist/monster movies and a new wave of filmmakers was experimenting with stories that pushed the envelope. On the other hand, those wild experiments sometimes got a little weird. Case in point 1975’s A Boy and His Dog, which follows Vic and his telepathic dog Blood wandering a post-apocalyptic wasteland as they search for food, and more importantly, women. Streaming for free on Tubi and Amazon Prime, it’s an unlikely inspiration for both Fallout and Mad Max, while a time capsule of what sci-fi was like before Star Wars changed everything.
A Boy And His Dog And His Libido
A Boy and His Dog stars Don Johnson as Vic, and Tim McIntire as the voice of Blood. The two constantly bicker as any two male best friends do. Blood’s ability to sniff out women is of incredible importance to the horny and lonely Vic, who after saving one girl, Quilla June (Susanne Benton) from mutants and finally getting laid again, decides to follow her to Downunder, a secret society beneath the surface that’s a near utopia compared to the nuclear blasted wasteland.
Unfortunately, Blood remains on the surface and none of the human characters can match his dry wit. It’s there, in the subterranean version of Topeka, that Vic learns he’ll achieve his dream of copulation thanks to a high “stud rating,” except he’ll be “sent to the farm” after impregnating 35 women. Worse, it’s all done through electrodes, and that more than anything is what spurs Vic to escape Topeka.
A Faithful Adaptation Of A Sci-Fi Legend
It’s a weird plot, but it’s also a rather faithful adaptation of the novella, A Boy and His Dog by the sci-fi icon Harlan Ellison. The biggest change was a few lines of dialogue that make the film more, according to Ellison, misogynistic than his novel ever was. It wasn’t enough to stop the film from becoming an immediate cult classic. It would never, ever be made today. Johnson’s performance, which makes it pretty clear that Vic can be outsmarted by everyone he comes across, goes so far as to start flipping the script.
The influence A Boy and His Dog had on Fallout is immediately clear. Vic calls Blood “Dogmeat,” Downunder is essentially a Vault-Tec experiment, and the complete breakdown of society’s old order explains why something as mundane as bottle caps became currency in the games. Who knew a black sci-fi comedy about a horny survivor would influence one of the best post-apocalyptic series of all time?
A Boy and His Dog bombed in theaters, but once it became a cult classic, work started on a sequel. Instead of Vic, it would follow a female survivor named Spike and of course, Blood, the real hero of the series. Nine years after he brought Vic to life, Don Johnson starred in Miami Vice and changed television forever. If you ever wanted to see Sonny Crockett as a horny scavenger, A Boy and His Dog is your chance.
A Boy and His Dog is streaming for free on Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV, Plex, and YouTube.
Entertainment
Another Major Delay Spells Doom For James Gunn’s DCU
By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated
When James Gunn’s DCU began with a Superman movie, many superhero fans had the same question: when are we going to see a team-up with Batman? Unfortunately, an onscreen collaboration between the World’s Finest seems increasingly farther away. Nobody has been officially cast as the DCU’s Batman, and his first movie doesn’t have a premiere date yet. Weirdly enough, that hasn’t kept Warner Bros. from greenlighting numerous projects focused on the Caped Crusader’s foes, including Clayface (releasing October 23) and a Deathstroke/Bane team-up film. Now, it seems like our odds of seeing Batman in the DCU have gotten worse with the surprise delay of a completely separate project.
Separate from James Gunn’s cinematic universe, Matt Reeves has continued working on the sequel to his 2022 hit film The Batman. The sequel was previously scheduled to be released on October 1, 2027, and fans were counting down the days until they’d see Robert Pattinson kicking butt and taking names once more. Unfortunately, the countdown just got longer: The Batman II has been officially delayed to February 18, 2028. This is actually the second delay for the movie, and one that may effectively endanger the DCU by forcing two different Dark Knights to compete against each other.
Dancing With The Delay In The Pale Moonlight
Fans of Matt Reeves’ The Batman are getting all too used to the sequel getting pushed back. Originally, the movie had a release date of October 2, 2026, but the studio delayed it until October 1, 2027, to give Reeves more time for postproduction. Now, it has been delayed until February 18, 2028, which gives the director even more time to polish the sequel. Nonetheless, the repeated delays have concerned some fans who worry that the film is a Supergirl-style stinker Reeves is trying to fix in post. Others worry that even if the film is great, making us wait over half a decade between sequels will kill any momentum the movie could have had.
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn disagrees, of course. On Threads, he mentioned how several sequels achieved critical and commercial success despite a long wait between films. “7 years between Alien and Aliens. 14 years between Incredibles. 7 years between the first two Terminators. 13 years between Avatars. 36 years between Top Guns. And, of course, six years between Guardians Vol 2 and Vol 3.” While he has a point, it’s worth noting that several of his examples (including Aliens, Terminator 2, and The Incredibles 2) succeeded back before audiences were collectively hooked on the never-ending stream of new content from platforms like TikTok.
Will Audiences Respond To The Next Bat-Signal?
In other words, a huge wait between The Batman and The Batman II might be a turn-off for younger audiences more attuned to movies like Obsession and Backrooms, both of which were created by filmmakers who first achieved success on YouTube. The real elephant in the room, though, is that delaying Matt Reeves’ latest film may end up hurting the eventual Batman DCU film. Rumors have been swirling that Warner Bros. is trying to find the right actor for the role, and the failure of Supergirl may encourage the studio to focus on a new Dark Knight movie sooner rather than focusing on another relatively minor character.
If that happens, the DCU Dark Knight movie (Batman: The Brave and the Bold) could come out very soon after The Batman II; possibly less than a year later. Should this occur, one or both of the films are likely to suffer at the box office. For example, if mainstream audiences know that The Brave and the Bold is coming, they may avoid The Batman II, like audiences avoided Blue Beetle and The Flash when they knew the DCEU was coming to an end. Conversely, if Reeves’ sequel is really great, The Brave and the Bold may suffer from comparison, with fans wondering why the latest DCU film can’t be as good as what came before.
Batman is my absolutely favorite superhero, so I’d love to be wrong about this. In my perfect world, The Batman II will be even better than the original, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold will be the best film in the DCU. But the failure of Supergirl (which had very little to compete with) has underscored how fickle audiences can be when it comes to superhero cinema. Delaying The Batman II for over half a decade may very well sink that movie’s chances at the box office even as it sabotages the next film featuring the Caped Crusader. Forget the Joker: as it turns out, Batman’s greatest enemy may be studio interference!
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for July 21, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re a good writer.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Write there
The words are related to paper.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe writing utensils.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
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NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Stationery.
NYT Strands word list for July 21
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Envelope
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Letterhead
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Stationery
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Notepad
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File
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Card
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Sheet
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
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