August 2025

There were 1,614 posts published in August 2025 (this is page 28 of 162).

Summary for Tropical Storm Fernand (AT1/AL062025)

…FERNAND NOT DONE QUITE YET… …FORECAST TO BECOME POST-TROPICAL BY LATE WEDNESDAY… As of 5:00 PM AST Tue Aug 26 the center of Fernand was located near 38.1, -53.4 with movement NE at 12 mph. The minimum central pressure was 1007 mb with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph.

These Are the Best Labor Day Tech Deals at Walmart

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Labor Day sales are rolling in, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before they’re over. You can also subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

Walmart has joined Amazon and Best Buy in the list of major retailers with solid Labor Day sales. You can find deals on headphones, TVs, speakers, laptops, and more from major brands leading up to the holiday on Sept. 1. I used price-tracking tools to make sure these tech deals are legit and made a list of the best ones to make your shopping a little easier. Here are some of the best deals so far.

4K UHD IPS 144Hz 1ms G-Sync
Samsung Odyssey G70B 28″ Gaming Monitor

Samsung Odyssey G70B 28" 4K UHD IPS 144Hz 1ms G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor


$299.00
at Walmart
$699.99
Save $400.99

Series QD-Mini LED QLED 4K UHD Smart TV (2025)
TCL 65″ QM6K Google TV

TCL 65" QM6K Series QD-Mini LED QLED 4K UHD Smart TV with Google TV (NEW 2025) 65QM6K


$549.99
at Walmart
$998.00
Save $448.01

4K UHD OLED Web OS 24 Smart 120 Hz TV with Dolby Vision
LG 65″ C5 OLED TV

LG 65" C5 OLED TV


$1,496.99
at Walmart
$1,779.00
Save $282.01

Wireless Noise Canceling Over-the-Ear Headphones with Google Assistant
Sony WH-1000XM4

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Canceling Over-the-Ear Headphones with Google Assistant


$289.36
at Walmart

Blue
Apple AirPods Max (USB-C)

Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) - Blue


$479.99
at Walmart
$549.00
Save $69.01

Bone Conduction Waterproof Bluetooth Headphones for Sports with Cooling Wristband
Shokz OpenRun Headphones

Shokz OpenRun Bone Conduction Waterproof Bluetooth Headphones for Sports with Cooling Wristband


$89.95
at Walmart
$129.95
Save $40.00

Wireless Headphones
Beats Studio Pro

Beats Studio Pro Wireless Headphones


$179.95
at Walmart
$349.95
Save $170.00

Portable Waterproof Speaker
JBL Flip 6

JBL Flip 6 - Portable Waterproof Speaker


$84.99
at Walmart
$129.95
Save $44.96

47mm Bluetooth and WiFi Smart Watch
Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic

Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic 47mm Bluetooth and WiFi Smart Watch


$244.00
at Walmart
$399.99
Save $155.99

4 Spotlight, Wireless Outdoor Camera with Fixed Solar Panel, 360° Panoramic View, Human Auto Track.
AOSU 2K Solar Security Camera

AOSU 2K Solar Security Camera


$69.99
at Walmart
$110.00
Save $40.01

A gaming monitor

The Samsung Odyssey G70B 28″ Gaming Monitor is a high-resolution, high-performing ultra-wide gaming monitor with an ultra HD 27-inch panel, where you can play your games in 4K and hear the games with its built-in speakers. Right now, the monitor is $299 (originally $699.99), which is an impressive discount.

Discounted TVs

I’ve been lucky enough to test TCL’s QM6K Google QLED TV firsthand for a couple of months. It’s hard to believe it’s considered a budget TV, considering how good it is. The 65-inch model is $549.99 (originally $998) right now, a budget price for an excellent QLED TV.

For those looking to splurge on an OLED TV, the LG 65″ C5 OLED TV is $1,496.99 (originally $1,779). This OLED model came out this year and it’s impressive to already see it with such a steep discount. It has excellent image quality like you’d expect from any OLED, has great gaming specs, and the contrast looks great even in bright rooms, according to CNET’s review.

Flagship Headphones

If you need to get new ANC headphones, there are some good options with big discounts right now. The WH-1000XM4 starts at $199 (originally $349.99). They’re not as fancy as the XM6, but they’re still great headphones and plenty powerful for most people. You can read more about them in PCMag’s “outstanding” review.

Apple’s AirPods Max are excellent ANC headphones, on par with the best Bluetooth headphones money can buy today. Right now, they’re $479.99 (originally $549). These are the new 2024 version with new colors and the USB-C charging port. If you’re in the Apple ecosystem and want to stay there, get the AirPods Max. You can read about the headphones in more detail in PCMag’s review.

The Shokz OpenRun Headphones might not be the latest model—that would be the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2—but the original ones are still excellent bone conduction headphones. Right now, you can get them for $89.95 (originally $129.95), a great price for reliable waterproof headphones that let you hear your surroundings.

Beats headphones are well known for their style and better compatibility with Apple devices. Both of these hold true with their flagship headphones, the Beats Studio Pro, currently $179.95 (originally $349.95). PCMag gave them a “good” review, praising its sculpted sound, comfort, premium accessories, and spatial audio with head tracking.

A portable JBL speaker

I’ve been using the JBL Flip 6 to listen to media in my home office for months, and have enjoyed it. The speakers are user-friendly, portable, have that fun JBL sound signature, and are completely compatible with all the features from the companion app that the higher-end JBL speakers have. You can get yours for $84.99 (originally $129.95).

A classic smartwatch

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic launched in 2023 with top-notch specs and features. PCMag thinks the Galaxy Watch 6 is “excellent,” and called it the best Android-compatible smartwatch of 2023. If you’re a Samsung user (or just Android) and are looking for a deal on a solid smartwatch, you can get the Galaxy Watch 6 classic for $244 (originally $399.99).

A solar subscription-free security camera

I’ve been in search of the best solar camera for the money that is also subscription-free ever since my home was broken into. That camera for me has been the AOSU 2K Solar Security Camera, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an easy set-up, subscription-free, reliable solar camera with a 360-degree view. You can get it for $69.99 (originally $110), an impressive value for the money.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now


Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen, 2023)


—
$29.99

(List Price $49.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

Google Gemini Just Got a Lot Better at ‘Photoshopping,’ and I’m Worried

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Google’s updated its Gemini app (and website) to make image generation a bit more intuitive, and for once, what I previously wrote off as a novelty might now actually be a viable Photoshop alternative. There’s still some typical AI junk, but the new model, tested under the name “nano banana” and now live for all Gemini users as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, does a lot to let you fine-tune an image to your liking. Everything still has a watermark and “made with AI” warnings in the metadata, but get ready to be a lot more discerning over whether a photo is real or not—the new Gemini blurs those lines more than ever before.

Google Gemini is now better at editing real photos

What makes the updated model so special is a focus on maintaining details across multiple photos. Now, instead of essentially generating from scratch each time you ask the Gemini app for a photo, it can carry over parts of either a source photo or a previously generated image and only change what you ask it to. There’s two big reasons why that matters, and ironically, one of them actually means using less AI.

For instance, let’s say you have a photo of yourself wearing a red shirt, but you want it to be blue. Previously, you had two options: You either had to take the image into Photoshop yourself and tweak it manually, or use it as a prompt for AI and keep generating until you got something that looked close enough to the original photo, but now with the shirt in blue. With the changes in nano banana, Google’s fine-tuned its model so that it leaves most of your image alone, and only changes the shirt.

The author, in a source photo and a photo edited using Google Gemini

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt, Google

As an example, here’s that exact situation, with a couple photos of me. Notice how the model maintains fine details like the frizz of my hair or my specific facial expression and pose. It’s not perfect, and you’ll notice that my skin actually looks a little smoother in the edited version, but with the new updates, Gemini is now able to determine what I mean by “shirt” and focus most of its edits on that. I will say the shirt also looks a little unnatural, specifically around my right shoulder, but I also didn’t give Gemini much to work with in my prompt. That’s where the next big change comes in.

Use Gemini to edit the same result multiple times

This is where the real trick is. Whether an image is entirely AI-generated or not, you can now use previously generated images as a base for future generations. In other words, if Gemini didn’t get something quite right the first time, you can ask it to try again until it does.

To give you an idea of what that looks like, here’s the same photo of me in the blue shirt, but now with polka dots added in, to better match the red shirt from the original photo. 

The author, in a photo edited by Google Gemini

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt, Google

And here’s an entirely AI-generated image of a cat, which I had Gemini change to orange.

Cats generated by Google Gemini

Credit: Google

This is huge for AI image generation. Previously, when asking Gemini to make small tweaks to content it’s already generated, you would essentially get brand new photos each time, as is the case with these dogs wearing hats.

Dogs generated by Google Gemini

Credit: Google

Now, though, you can have the app iterate on the same photo multiple times, which means that if the initial result looks unconvincing, you have a chance to fix it. To me, that takes this from being a novelty—where you essentially have to spin a wheel with each generation and hope it lands on something useful—to a genuine Photoshop threat. 

Google suggests, for instance, that you could use this to see how you’d look if you lived in a different decade, or had a different career. I’ll admit that the results look convincing enough to work for casual posts, especially if you upload a real photo as context. Here’s me standing next to the real life Mona Lisa, but re-imagined as an artist.

The author, in a source photo and a photo edited by Google Gemini

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt, Google

That’s not strictly realistic (why is there a second Mona Lisa next to me?), but I could see a certain type of person getting enough of a hoot out of it that they flood social media with posts like it. Spend some time iterating on it, and you could probably even make it look like I just went to the Louvre.

But if you’re an AI skeptic like me, there is still one saving grace that shows the model has a little room to grow.

Combining photos is still not quite right

While the new Gemini updates make iterating on existing photos much more viable, asking it to generate new content, where it can’t rely too much on a source photo, still gives you a noticeable AI sheen. One of the additional features Google announced with this update was the ability to use Gemini to combine multiple source photos into one. But while the other changes mostly involve making small tweaks to existing photos, this one still requires the AI to make up a lot in order to put the photos together, and it’s here where you’re most likely to run into the same old problems.

The author and her cat, in source photos and a photo generated by Google Gemini

Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt, Google

For instance, following one of Google’s suggested examples, I uploaded a photo of myself and my cat to Gemini, and asked it to make a photo of us cuddling together. But whereas the other tests I did with this update looked a lot like the source photos, the result here gave me a version of myself in a too-tight shirt, with too-shiny hair, cuddling a too-chunky cat. The broad strokes were right—my face still looks mostly like myself, my cat’s fur pattern is roughly intact, and the couch even has the right color and general shape. But on top of some small inconsistencies with, say, the folds on the couch, or my dimples, or the lamp in the background (which seems to have two poles), anyone who’s met my cat knows she’s not that big. The photo also just has that Vaseline-like, over-processed look that’s endemic to AI.

To a degree, that’s to be expected. I didn’t upload too many photos, and certainly none of me or my cat in the poses presented in the AI image. The AI had no way of knowing how we would look from different angles, especially since my selfie was just a headshot. But what I got does mean that when the AI runs out of useful source info and needs to intuit how a scene should look, it still runs into familiar problems that make it pretty easy to distinguish from photos made without AI. I could probably make the AI photo more realistic if I uploaded source photos closer to what Gemini wanted to generate, sure, but then I have to wonder what the point of involving AI in the editing process would even be?

At any rate, I can confidently say that making advanced AI edits look convincing will still take a good bit of human intervention.

Get ready for a blend of AI and reality

Gemini’s new updates are, to me, most impressive when used for smaller tweaks, which is really where I think the threat to Photoshop comes in. I like to think I have a knack for spotting AI-generated photos, but on a quick scroll, I’m not sure that image of me in a blue shirt would raise any alarm bells.

What does that mean? Well, for one, it means free AI tools are finally at the point where you might be able to use them to do with a natural language prompt what might have taken a few minutes to do by hand before. Adobe has already said it plans to incorporate nano banana into Photoshop, but be prepared for further changes to traditionally untouchable apps as AI progresses. It’s at the point where, at least for the small stuff, it really can threaten your traditional workflow.

For people who aren’t content creators, expect to have to develop an even more discerning eye about what is and isn’t real online. While completely AI-fabricated images are often still pretty easy to spot, and more realistic edits can be mostly innocuous (nobody’s gonna care about the color of my shirt), Gemini’s updates now make it easier than ever to blend reality with just a little bit of untruth. Here’s an image I had the new Gemini make of Taylor Swift in a red baseball cap, if you catch my drift.

An AI-generated image of Taylor Swift in a red baseball cap

Credit: Google

While we wait to see how this plays out, it’s a good time to remember that if an image does get your alarm bells going, Gemini does put AI watermarks in the lower left corner of all of its results, and will mark photos generated using it in their metadata, which you can see on both iPhone and Android by swiping up on a downloaded photo. There are ways to scrub metadata, but as a fallback, because the most convincing edits are likely to use real photos as their sources (I did for the Taylor Swift one above), as a last resort, you can also use a Google reverse image search to try to find the unaltered original. Be careful out there.

These Smart Rings Are Being Pulled From the Market

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Oura, maker of smart rings, recently won a patent suit against competitors Ultrahuman and RingConn. As a result, those companies have been told they need to pull their rings from the market within 60 days. The rings are all still available for now. Below, I’ll break down the legal situation and what the companies are planning in the coming months. 

How do Oura’s, Ultrahuman’s, and RingConn’s rings compare? 

Oura is the biggest name in the smart ring space. The latest model of their ring costs between $349 and $499 (depending on color) and you need a $5.99/month subscription to make use of the data it collects. It can track data like your heart rate during sleep and exercise, and the app provides analysis like sleep scores and suggested bedtimes. I’ve used the Oura ring for years; I like it, but it also has its limitations compared to watch-based trackers. Here’s my review of the current model, the gen 4. 

Ultrahuman’s ring is $349 regardless of color, and doesn’t require a subscription. Ultrahuman’s app trends toward the biohack-y, for example suggesting an optimal “caffeine permissible window” based on your sleep schedule. Like the Oura ring, it can track data like your heart rate during sleep and exercise. Ultrahuman also sells glucose monitors, home air quality monitors, and a blood testing service. Some features of the ring’s app, called “power plugs,” require a separate subscription fee to activate. I’ve been wearing an Ultrahuman ring to review it; expect to be able to read that review soon. In the meantime, here’s a review from ZDNet.  

RingConn sells two versions of their ring, a $299 Gen 2, and a $199 Gen 2 Air. RingConn bills their rings as the thinnest and lightest on the market. These rings also track data such as your heart rate during sleep and exercise. Like Ultrahuman, RingConn rings don’t require a subscription. You can read a ZDNet review of the Gen 2 here. 

Why a recent court ruling means Ultrahuman and RingConn will be pulled from the market

Oura brought a patent infringement claim against both Ultrahuman and RingConn with the U.S. International Trade Commission, or ITC. The ITC ruled that Ultrahuman and RingConn infringed Oura’s patents and must be pulled from the market. Oura posted a public version of their full filing from April 2025 here. 

The patent at issue is this one, which describes a “finger-worn wearable ring device” with a battery and sensors in a certain configuration. Oura applied for the patent in 2023 and it was issued in 2024. It seems to describe the gen 4 (current) version of the ring, with the smooth interior, rather than the gen 3’s sensor bumps. 

As a result of the ITC decision, various divisoins of Ultrahuman and RingConns were sent cease-and-desist letters that block them from selling, importing, distributing, or marketing rings that infringe on the patent. 

The rings will still be available until at least Oct. 21

The cease-and-desist letters specify that the companies can continue selling the rings during the 60-day period in which the decision is under review. That means that the rings are expected to stay on the market until Oct. 21, 2025. If you want to buy an Ultrahuman or RingConn ring, do it before then. 

After that date, resellers who have the rings in stock will still be able to sell what they have, so long as Ultrahuman and RingConn aren’t involved in that process (as I understand it). 

Ultrahuman has also said that they are “fast-tracking a redesigned Ring” that they expect to be able to sell without restriction. 

What the companies have to say about this

I contacted all three companies for more information. An Oura spokesperson linked me this blog post about the decision and provided a statement, which read, in part: 

“ŌURA achieved a decisive legal victory with the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling that ŌURA’s intellectual property is valid, and that both Ultrahuman and RingConn infringed on ŌURA’s IP and are subject to exclusion and cease and desist orders. This decision affirms the strength and validity of ŌURA’s innovations and our unwavering commitment to protecting our technology in the U.S. market.”

An Ultrahuman spokesperson told me that Ultrahuman is suing Oura for patent infringement in India, and also linked me to this Ultrahuman blog post arguing that Oura’s patent is too obvious to be enforceable. Here is an excerpt from the company’s official statement: 

“We welcome the ITC’s recognition of consumer-protective exemptions and its rejection of attempts to block the access of U.S. consumers. Customers can continue purchasing and importing Ring AIR directly from us through October 21, 2025, and at retailers beyond this date. What’s more, our software application and charging accessories remain fully available, after the Commission rejected Oura’s request to restrict them.

While we respectfully disagree with the Commission’s ruling on U.S. Patent No. 11,868,178, its validity is already under review by the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) on the grounds of obviousness.

Public reporting has raised questions about Oura’s business practices, and its reliance on litigation to limit competition.”

I haven’t heard back from RingConn, but will update this piece if I do. 

The XReal One Pro Smart Glasses Are $50 Off for Labor Day

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Labor Day sales are rolling in, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before they’re over. You can also subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

I am a huge fan of both cutting-edge smart glasses and organized labor in the United States, so XReal One Pro smart glasses going on sale for Labor Day means a lot to me.

XReal One Pro glasses are available for the first time on both Amazon and Best Buy, and there are some sweet deals available—like $50 off a bundle with the XReal One Pro glasses and the Beam Pro device, or a solo pair of XReal One Pro glasses for $649. (The “regular” price Amazon lists is $769; XReal itself says the list price is $649.)

XREAL ONE PRO AR Glasses M (IPD 57-66mm) and Beam Pro WiFi (6G+128G) Bundle– Supports All Google Play Store Apps, Elevate Your Spatial Experience

XREAL ONE PRO AR Glasses M (IPD 57-66mm) and Beam Pro WiFi (6G+128G) Bundle– Supports All Google Play Store Apps, Elevate Your Spatial Experience


$798.00
at Amazon
$968.00
Save $170.00

XReal One Pro glasses are excellent—just amazingly high-tech devices that will make anyone who tries them say, “whooooaaa.” These 3DOF AR smart glasses let you project a huge, high-def virtual display in front of your eyes for streaming video, working, or playing video games, all powered by an onboard X1 chip. They work with any USB-C device with video out, but to get the most out of them, pair them up with the Beam, a dedicated Android device that unlocks new features and more. You can read my review for more details, but to sum it up: Using XReal One Pro glasses is like looking into the future.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now


Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen, 2023)


—
$29.99

(List Price $49.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

This Kindle Colorsoft Is $30 Off for Labor Day

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Labor Day sales are rolling in, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before they’re over. You can also subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

Early Labor Day sales are here, with great deals on all kinds of tech; if your audio game needs a bit of help, there are plenty of options available at great prices, from the latest Sony headphones to the buzzy new Nothing Headphones.

After years of wait, Amazon finally came out with its own line of color e-readers. Called Kindle Colorsoft, you get the same Kindle ecosystem—and the reading benefits—but with an e-ink color screen. It’s built on the foundation of the new Paperwhite, so you get a high contrast ratio, and fast page turns. There’s an adjustable warm lights, and unlike other base Kindles, there are no ads here to speak of.

And for Labor Day, Amazon is discounting the new Kindle Colorsoft for the first time, by $30, which brings the price of a new model to $219.99.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16 GB (newest model) – With color display and adjustable warm light – No Ads – Black

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16 GB (newest model) – With color display and adjustable warm light – No Ads – Black


$219.99
at Amazon
$249.99
Save $30.00

But on top, there’s an E-ink display is built on E Ink’s Kaleido technology. It features custom designed nitride LEDs that enhance color and increase the brightness. You get to enjoy book covers, graphic novels and certain manga in full color. The reading experience, though, is the same, black and white affair. The color display is shows content at 150 PPI, but the black and white reading experience still gives you 300 PPI sharpness that’s become standard with Kindle Paperwhite. And because it’s an e-ink screen, you still get the same eight-week battery life.

Until now, Kindle only offered Colorsoft Signature edition that started at $280. But now, Amazon has released a new base Colorsoft model with 16GB storage (instead of 32GB), and drops features like wireless charging and auto-brightness. But there’s still more than enough going around in the Colorsoft to make it a solid purchase.

Lifehacker’s Associate Tech Editor Michelle Ehrhardt gave the Kindle Colorsoft a 3.5 star rating, noting “the Colorsoft is a neat little device that offers objective improvements over other e-readers when it comes to displaying color images.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Amazon is also discounting its base Kindle by $20. You can get the latest model for $89.99, down from $109.99 for Labor Day.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now


Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen, 2023)


—
$29.99

(List Price $49.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

Cal Raleigh home run tracker: Mariners slugger becomes 1st primary catcher to reach 50 homers in a season

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is having a career season after reaching the 50-home run mark and surpassing 100 RBI on the season. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)
Jess Rapfogel via Getty Images

Cal Raleigh’s historic 2025 season has seen him reach the 50-home run mark, the most in a season by a primary catcher, and become the first player in MLB history to hit at least 20 homers from both sides of the plate in the same season.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]

The Seattle Mariners catcher’s road to home run history began on the final day of March with his first dinger of the season and he’s continued the power surge ever since. Raleigh has hit blasts in consecutive games eight times and recorded nine multi-homer games this season.

Raleigh is threatening the American League record of 62 home runs set by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in 2022. “Big Dumper” also inching closer to Mickey Mantle’s record of 54 homers by a switch-hitter, which the Yankees legend achieved in 1961, and Ken Griffey Jr.’s Mariners record of 56 home runs, which “The Kid” reached twice in — 1997 and 1998.

As Raleigh approaches more history during his MVP-worthy season, we are tracking his notable 2025 home runs all the way through Game 162.

Home runs hit: 1

March 31: Raleigh opened his 2025 home run account during the Mariners’ fifth game of the season, a 9-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers. His 358-foot blast came six days after he signed a six-year, $105 million extension.

Home runs hit: 9

April 11: The history making started early for Raleigh. During the Mariners’ 14th game he launched his homer blast of the season off Texas Rangers pitcher Chris Martin and set the franchise record for career home runs by a catcher with his 96th.

Home runs hit: 12

May 2: Raleigh’s first grand slam of the season came in early May during a two-homer, five-RBI night in a 13-1 rout of Jack Leiter and the Rangers.

May 27: Raleigh’s third multi-home run game of the season put his total up to 19 on the year and set an MLB record for most homers by a catcher in a team’s first 53 games of a season. Both dingers came against Washington Nationals pitcher Mitchell Parker.

May 30: Raleigh became the first catcher in MLB history with 20 home runs before the end of May during another multi-blast night that saw him knock in five runs in a 12-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Home runs hit: 11

June 20: A prolific May continued into June for Raleigh where he reached double-digits in home runs again and set the MLB record for most homers by a catcher before the All-Star break with his 29th of the season at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.

June 21: Back at Wrigley a day later, Raleigh hit No. 30 to become the first switch-hitter in MLB history to do so before the All-Star break, moving ahead of of Mickey Mantle, José Ramírez and Lance Berkman. He also became the first player to reach 30 home runs in his team’s first 75 games since 2001, when Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez achieved that feat.

Cal Raleigh’s historic season with the Seattle Mariners has seen him win the Home Run Derby in Atlanta and become the first MLB player to reach 50 home runs in 2025. (Photo by Gene Wang – Capture At Media/Getty Images)
Gene Wang – Capture At Media via Getty Images

Home runs hit: 9

July 14: By the time the baseball world descended on Atlanta for the All-Star Game, Raleigh had 38 home runs. He brought his power down to Georgia where he would go on to become the first catcher to win the Home Run Derby, edging Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero in the final. He is the second Mariner to win the event, joining Griffey Jr., who won the event three times. Raleigh is also the first switch-hitter to win the Derby outright, as Rubén Sierra, the only other switch-hitter to win, shared the title in 1998.

July 26: Nearly two weeks after Raleigh’s Derby win, he hit No. 40 to become the seventh catcher in MLB history to post a 40-homer season, joining Salvador Perez, Johnny Bench, Javy López, Todd Hundley, Roy Campanella and Mike Piazza. It was also the 133rd blast of his career, putting him ahead of Ken Griffey Jr. for the most by a Mariner in his first five MLB seasons.

Home runs hit: 8 (and counting)

Aug. 15: Homer No. 46 was launched during a win over the New York Mets which also saw Raleigh reach 100 RBI on the season. That matched his career high, set in 2024, and also made Raleigh the first catcher since Mike Piazza in 1999 and 2000 with 100 RBI in consecutive seasons while playing at least 50% of his games behind the plate.

Aug. 24: An 11-4 win over the Athletics was highlighted by yet another multi-homer game by Raleigh — one that saw him tie and then break the MLB record for most home runs hit in a single season by a catcher when he hit Nos. 48 and 49 to leapfrog Salvador Perez.

Aug. 25: Raleigh reached 50 home runs before any other MLB player this season with a first-inning dinger during a win over the San Diego Padres. He is also the only primary catcher to ever hit 50 blasts in a single season.