Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for May 4, #693
Hints and answers for Connections for May 4, #693.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
OK, today’s Connections puzzle purple category made me laugh out loud. Spacey! Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, showing number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Leathery meat.
Green group hint: Plug in, rock out.
Blue group hint: You’ll need a wide straw.
Purple group hint: Celestial bodies get a makeover.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Qualities of overcooked meat.
Green group: Play some electric guitar.
Blue group: Ingredients in bubble tea.
Purple group: Planets/dwarf planet with first letter changed.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is qualities of overcooked meat. The four answers are chewy, dry, stringy and tough.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is play some electric guitar. The four answers are jam, noodle, shred and solo.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is ingredients in bubble tea. The four answers are boba, milk, sugar and tea.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is planets/dwarf planet with first letter changed. The four answers are Bluto, Cars, Darth and Genus, for Pluto, Mars, Earth and Venus.
Technologies
Google’s Nudity Warnings Will Warn You of Incoming Explicit Images in Messages
The process happens entirely on your device, and Google says it doesn’t have access to any images.
Google wants to give you more control over viewing and sharing images that may be explicit when they’re sent to you via Google Messages. The tech giant is currently rolling out sensitive content warnings, a safety feature announced last year that will automatically blur images suspected of containing nudity before they’re viewed.
When a message comes in, you’ll see a «speed bump» notification, where you have to stop and choose an option before opening a message. Those options include learning why explicit images can be harmful, getting the chance to block the number immediately, getting the option to click Back or choosing the ability to view the image. It will also remind you of the potential risks of sharing explicit content and help prevent accidental sends.
Google said this process happens entirely on your phone to maintain privacy and ensure end-to-end encrypted messages remain accessible only to the sender and recipient. The company also clarified that it does not have access to image contents, will not know whether nudity actually has been detected and does not send identifiable data to its servers.
In a post on its website, the company acknowledged that the feature «isn’t perfect,» noting: «It may occasionally detect images that don’t contain nudity or not detect images that contain nudity.»
The feature is opt-in for adults via Android settings and enabled by default (opt-out) for users under 18. It will roll out to Android 9 and above, including Android Go devices, with Google Messages.
Technologies
Microsoft Raised the Prices of Xbox Consoles, and Some Games Are Next
Some new first-party Xbox games will have their costs raised by $10 this holiday season.
Get ready to pay more for Xbox consoles and some games. Microsoft raised the recommended retail pricing of its Xbox Series S/X consoles, controllers and headsets on Thursday. The company also announced then that it plans to raise the prices new first-party games from $70 to $80 this holiday season, matching the cost of some new Nintendo Switch 2 games.
Microsoft said the cost of games released between now and then won’t increase, so Doom: The Dark Ages won’t see a price hike when it’s released later this month, for instance. «We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development,» Microsoft wrote.
Microsoft’s recommended retail pricing (PDF) for consoles and controllers is staggering. The company is suggesting an $80 price hike for the Xbox Series S (512GB), the most affordable Xbox console Microsoft sells. That takes the price of the 5-year-old console from $300 to $380. The Xbox Series X (1TB) is getting a $100 increase, increasing it from $500 to $600. And the Xbox Series X (2TB) Galaxy Black Special Edition now costs $730, which makes the eye-watering $700 price tag of a PlayStation 5 Pro seem reasonable.
Read more: Who’s to Blame for the Rising Cost of Nintendo Switch 2 Games?
The base Xbox wireless controller has a recommended price of $65 (up from $60), and the high-end Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 has a recommended price of $200 (up from $145). Stereo and wireless headsets have recommended prices of $65 (up from $60) and $120 (up from $110), respectively.
These prices aren’t just affecting gamers in the US. Microsoft raised Xbox console and accessory hardware prices in the UK, EU, Australia and the rest of the world. But the cost of headsets is only increasing in the US and Canada. You could see these console and hardware price hikes immediately, but Microsoft isn’t raising the price of Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — the most expensive tier of the gaming service — costs $20 a month but provides you with access to hundreds of games, including new, Day 1 releases. With the price of some major games rising to $80, that means you would have to buy four months of Game Pass Ultimate to match the price of one new game. That makes Game Pass much more appealing, but there is the potential for Microsoft to raise the price of the service in the future.
Microsoft raised Game Pass prices in 2024 alongside the introduction of Game Pass Standard. But since the company raised the price of the service in 2024, and the year prior in 2023, it’s possible Microsoft will increase the cost of the service later this year.
Again, game prices aren’t going up until later this year, so you still have time to buy games at or below $70 apiece, but you could see the updated console, controller and headset pricing now. For more on Xbox, you can check out CNET’s reviews of the Xbox Series S and the Xbox Series X, as well as what to know about Xbox Game Pass.
Technologies
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Apple Watch Ultra: How the Rugged Watches Compare
Apple’s second-generation Ultra gets a few updates over the original.
The $799 Apple Watch Ultra 2 debuted in September 2023 and continues to be the company’s leading rugged smartwatch. Since the Ultra 2’s debut, Apple has also unveiled the Apple Watch Series 10 as a more mainstream watch option. And while the Ultra 2 replaced the original Apple Watch Ultra, that model does continue to sell in Apple’s Certified Refurbished store at $589.
While the second-gen Ultra looks similar to the original, there are a number of improvements inside the iPhone-compatible smartwatch that are worth noting. The Ultra 2 has a 3,000-nit screen, which should be noticeably brighter than the original Ultra’s 2,000-nit display. The Ultra 2 also includes the new Double Tap gesture, which lets you activate certain controls by tapping your thumb and index finger together without touching the watch’s screen.
Read more: Best Apple Watch for 2025
Otherwise, this newer Ultra has many of the same features as the first. This includes a new Night mode that will be on a Wayfinder watch face, which uses an ambient light sensor to activate. Both watches also continue to have an estimated 36-hour battery life.
To highlight the differences between the original Apple Watch Ultra and the new Apple Watch Ultra 2, we’ve outlined each watch’s specs in the chart below.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Apple Watch Ultra
Apple Watch Ultra 2 | Apple Watch Ultra | |
---|---|---|
Shape | Square | Square |
Watch size | 49mm | 49mm |
Materials, finishes | Titanium | Titanium |
Display size, resolution | 1.91-inch, 502×410-pixel OLED | 1.91-inch, 502×410-pixel OLED |
Dimensions | 44x49x14.4 mm | 49x44x14.4mm |
Weight | 61.4g | 61.3g |
Colors | Natural titanium | Natural titanium |
Always On | Yes | Yes |
Interchangable bands | Yes | Yes |
GPS | Yes (L1 and L5) | Yes |
Automatic workout detection | Yes | Yes |
Compass | Yes | Yes |
Altimeter | Yes (operating range: -500m to 9,000m) | Yes |
Water resistance | 10ATM (100 meters) and recreational scuba diving up to 40 meters | Yes, up to 100m |
Calls | Yes | Yes |
Microphone | Yes (3-mic array) | Yes |
Speaker | Yes | Yes |
Voice assistant | Yes (Siri, on-device) | Yes (Siri) |
Mobile Payments | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Apple Pay) |
Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes |
Period tracking | Yes | Yes |
Sensors | SPo2 (blood oxygen), ECG, optical heart, ambient light, high dynamic range gyroscope, high-g accelerometer, water temperature, depth gauge + app | SPo2 (blood oxygen), ECG, optical heart, ambient light, high dynamic range gyroscope, high-g accelerometer, water temperature, depth gauge + app |
Emergency features | International emergency calling, Emergency SOS, crash detection | International emergency calling, Emergency SOS, crash detection |
Compatibility | iOS 17 | iOS 16 |
Software | WatchOS 10 | WatchOS 9 |
Processor | Apple S9 | S8 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor |
Connectivity | LTE and UMTS, Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth 5.3 | LTE and UMTS, Wi-FI |
Memory and storage | 64GB | 64GB |
Power | USB-C magnetic fast charging | USB-C magnetic fast charging |
Battery life | Up to 36 hours; up to 72 hours (low power mode) | 36-hour battery life, 18 hours on LTE |
Battery capacity | Unavailable | Unavailable |
Price (USD) | $799 | $799 |
Price (GBP) | £799 | £849 |
Price (AUD) | AU$1,399 | AU$1,299 |
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