IT General

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're a good cook.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 20, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Cooking functions

• Green: Power

• Blue: Song themes

• Purple: Iconic films

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Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Stove knob settings

• Green: Potency

• Blue: Music theory concepts

• Purple: "___ Day" movies

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1074 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Stove knob settings: HIGH, MEDIUM, OFF, SIMMER

• Potency: CONCENTRATION, FORCE, INTENSITY, MIGHT

• Music theory concepts: INTERVAL, KEY, MODE, SCALE

• "___ Day" movies: GROUNDHOG, INDEPENDENCE, THE LONGEST, TRAINING

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 20, 2026

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

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 Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you hate to rush.

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.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

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.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 20, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: No rush

The words are related to sluggishness.

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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe moving without haste.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Take Your Time.

NYT Strands word list for May 20

• Gentle

• Relaxed

• Slow

• Take Your Time

• Leisurely

• Placid

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.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're not put-together.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 20, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for May 20, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Ruin.

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Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter W.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

WRECK

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

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 Wordle.

Google just announced a smorgasbord of new AI tools for productivity and creativity at its Google I/O keynote on Tuesday, but not many of them are available for free right now.

I/O was huge for Gemini superusers, as the flashiest new features are all rolling out to paying members right now. Even Google AI Plus and Pro users will miss out on some of them. That makes sense from a business and AI safety perspective — test new tools with your most engaged power users, then roll them out widely — but it does make things a bit less exciting for the average Google user.

Fear not, though, because there actually were a few new tools announced on Tuesday that you can use right away, and without dropping a single cent. Let's talk about them.

SEE ALSO: Google I/O 2026 live updates: See the latest reveals, including Gemini, Android XR, more Gemini 3.5 Flash

The biggest news out of Google I/O? The immediate launch of Gemini 3.5 Flash, the new default model for the Gemini app and Google Search.

If you want to try it, it's as simple as just opening the Gemini app or using Google AI Mode. Google says Gemini 3.5 Flash is faster than other models and can better handle complex agentic tasks, all while using tokens more efficiently. And yes, it can help with vibe coding. This one's easy to try, as Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default Gemini model for everyone. Go check it out.

Gemini Omni Flash for YouTube Shorts and Create

First up is Gemini Omni Flash, a new world model. While it only generates video for now, it can simulate physics and draw from Gemini's real-world knowledge, resulting in more accurate environments. Beyond that, Omni Flash videos can be edited via conversational dialogue with the app, so if you want to change the background of a shot, you can just tell it to do that.

Eventually, Omni will be a fully multimodal world model in terms of both inputs and outputs. At launch, you can use text, images, videos, or audio as the basis for creation, rather than just text. Omni Flash will be available later this week for YouTube Shorts and in the YouTube Create app for all users, for free.

SynthID in Chrome and Google Search Credit: Google / YouTUbe

Tired of not being able to tell if something was generated with AI? Thanks to some new developments with Google Search and Chrome, that should become a lot easier.

During I/O, Google announced that Chrome and Search will now have the ability to use SynthID (an invisible digital watermark on AI-generated content, created at the point of generation) to detect AI content. All you have to to is right-click on an image or use Circle to Search, at which point it will let you know if any part of the image was made with AI — at least, that's the idea.

Part of this announcement was that several third-party entities, including OpenAI, have also adopted SynthID, so it should be even more widespread than ever.

Neural Expressive in the Gemini app

Credit: Google

Finally, Google introduced a new visual design language for Gemini. While it's not technically a tool, you can try it for free right away in the Gemini desktop and mobile app. The new design language uses more vibrant colors, new haptic feedback, and fluid animations. Google says it also integrates Gemini Live, the app's live voice mode, directly into the core experience.

Google Pics Google Pics is coming this summer. Credit: Google

Google also teased the upcoming launch of Google Pics, which will be available in Workspace apps like Google Docs and Keep. It's a Canva-like tool for creating images, flyers, and similar visual presentations. It's all powered by Google AI, of course, so you can take advantage of Gemini intelligence and Nano Banana image generation.

Unfortunately, Google Pics is also rolling out to paid users, with one exception. If you have a Google Workspace business account through your employer, you'll be able to try Pics without paying anything yourself.

The Google I/O 2026 keynote is now in the books, and Google had a lot to share. The entire keynote event lasted nearly two hours and was full of new product and feature announcements.

With all that was unveiled at I/O, AI was clearly Google's focus, with news about Gemini taking center stage.

Here's everything Google announced about Gemini at I/O 2026.

Gemini 3.5 Google CEO Sundar Pichai introduces Gemini 3.5 Flash at Google I/O 2026. Credit: Google / YouTube

Google announced a new family of AI models, Gemini 3.5, at I/O 2026. The first model to launch is Gemini 3.5 Flash, with Gemini 3.5 Pro rolling out next month.

According to Google, Gemini 3.5 Flash is four times faster than other frontier models in output tokens per second (TPS), which measures a model's response time. Google says it also outperforms most frontier models on key benchmarks, including Gemini 3.1 Pro.

During the keynote, Google announced that Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default model powering the Gemini app and Google search's AI Mode.

Gemini Omni Omni is the new world model from Google DeepMind. Credit: Google

Gemini 3.5 wasn't the only new family of models announced at I/O 2026. Google also announced Gemini Omni, a new world model. At the end of the keynote, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis described Omni as a pivotal step toward artificial general intelligence, or AGI.

The first model in the family, Gemini Omni Flash, was showcased at the event.

According to Google, unlike text-to-video AI models, Gemini Omni is multi-modal in both input and output. Users can input text, audio, images, and video into the model when crafting their prompt and, utilizing Gemini's "real-world knowledge," Omni will generate realistic and scientifically accurate content.

Gemini Omni Flash rolls out today to paid Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers within the Gemini app and Google Flow. Gemini Omni Flash will also launch in YouTube Shorts and the YouTube Create app at no cost to users later this week.

Gemini Spark

Gemini Spark is easily the most ambitious product revealed at I/O. Google is calling Spark "your personal AI agent" and integrates with Google's suite of products, and eventually with more than 30 third-party tools via MCP, such as Adobe, Dropbox, and Uber.

Acting as an AI agent, Spark can pull together relevant emails from your inbox and files from Docs in order to craft an update for your boss. 

Notably, Spark runs entirely within the cloud and doesn't require any hardware.

Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. will see Gemini Spark roll out inside Gmail and Chat in the next week. 

Google AI subscription changes Google's new AI subscription tiers. Credit: Google

Speaking of the Google AI Ultra subscription, the company announced that it's lowering the starting price for its Ultra subscription to $200 per month and introducing a lower-cost $99 per month Ultra tier.

Previously, users had to pay a whopping $250 per month to access the latest Gemini features such as AI Inbox.

Neural Expressive Credit: Google

Finally, the Gemini app is getting a new design language, which Google calls Neural Expressive. The new design language includes more fluid animations, haptic feedback, and vibrant colors, per Google. Neural Expressive also integrates the Gemini Live voice experience into the core UI, meaning users no longer have to switch back and forth.

Google says it's rolling out globally on Gemini's desktop, Android, and iOS apps.

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It's only been about three years since Jack Ryan ended its television run on Prime Video. However, the former CIA analyst returns to the streaming service in the brand-new movie, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War. The movie premieres on Prime Video on Wednesday, May 20, at 3 a.m. ET in the U.S.

If you're an HBO Max subscriber in the U.S. who's been spending your evenings cycling through the same rewatches—The Pitt, White Lotus, or letting Last Week Tonight drone in the background while you pretend to fold laundry—then I've got a few suggestions to run by you.

SAVE $550: As of May 19, the Hisense 75-inch E7 Cinema Series is on sale for $749.99 at Amazon. That's a 42% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 75-inch E7 Cinema Series $749.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $550   Get Deal

With the World Cup just a few weeks away, now is the perfect time to upgrade. And to sweeten the deal, Amazon has a wide range of TVs discounted in its Memorial Day sale, including the Hisense 75-inch E7 Cinema Series. As of May 19, you can save $550 on this stunning TV, with a new price of $749.99.

This is a truly great TV that uses Hi-QLED MiniLED technology to improve your viewing experience. It supports Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive, HDR10, and HLG, as well as Dolby Atmos audio for a more immersive sound. The TV also features 4K Ultra HD resolution with AI upscaling that helps to improve lower-resolution content. For example, it helps older shows and movies appear clearer and more detailed.

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For gaming and sports, it has a native 144Hz refresh rate and AI Smooth Motion with MEMC. These help to keep fast-moving content looking sharp by reducing blur and improving motion clarity. And that's not the only AI feature. The AI Picture processing tool automatically adjusts brightness, contrast, and color of scenes, depending on the type of content being watched.

There's also the AI Light Sensor that adapts screen brightness based on the lighting in the room. AI Sports Mode can also recognize sports content and adjust both picture and sound settings.

Get this TV deal at Amazon in time for the World Cup.

TL;DR: Work smarter, not harder with some help from this lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021, on sale for $44.97 (reg. $219) now through May 31.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime License $44.97
$219 Save $174.03   Get Deal

Devoted Mac users, listen up. Just because you prefer Apple products doesn’t mean you have to miss out on one of the greatest ones Microsoft has to offer. This lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 gives users permanent access to six helpful apps for just $44.97 — less than $8 each — now through May 31.

Mac lovers can experience the best of Microsoft with this Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 license. It takes away the need for expensive monthly subscriptions to Microsoft 365 and lets you own six powerful Office apps with one low payment.

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This license is linked to your Microsoft account and allows you to install this suite on your Mac for life. It includes the Microsoft Office staples people have relied on for decades at home and work — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Aside from these classics, you’ll also get permanent access to new favorites like OneNote, which helps streamline note-taking, and Teams, which keeps you connected to coworkers, friends, and family.

Make sure your device is running macOS 14 Sonoma, macOS 15 Sequoia, or macOS 26 Tahoe before you purchase. If you run into any issues, free customer service is available to help.

Outfit your go-to Apple device with a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021, now just $44.97 until May 31.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

When most buyers start hunting for a reliable SUV, they usually end up looking at the same handful of Japanese models. The Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V have built such strong reputations over the years that plenty of people never even consider anything else.

For years, smart glasses have existed in a kind of aesthetic purgatory: too techy for fashion people, too awkward for mainstream consumers, and often associated with the exact kind of guy who makes everyone in the coffee shop (or Pilates class) extremely uncomfortable. Even when tech bros promised that smart eyewear represented the future, the frames themselves rarely looked like something anyone actually wanted to wear outside a product demo.

That's why Google and Samsung's new collaboration with South Korean luxury eyewear label Gentle Monster feels notable. More than a tech announcement, the partnership signals a broader shift in how Silicon Valley is approaching wearable AI: by finally admitting that people care what these things look like.

Unveiled during Google I/O 2026, the collaboration marks the first public reveal of Google's Android XR smart glasses developed with Gentle Monster and Samsung. The glasses, arriving later this year, will feature built-in speakers, microphones, and a camera, allowing wearers to listen to music, take calls, snap photos, and interact with Google's Gemini AI assistant hands-free.

But the actual technology almost feels secondary to the pitch; these are smart glasses designed to be stylish first.

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Google and Samsung unveiled the first design from their intelligent eyewear collaboration with Gentle Monster. Credit: Samsung

And unlike earlier attempts at wearable tech, they actually look fashionable. The slim oval-shaped black frames and narrow tinted lenses lean fully into Gentle Monster's signature aesthetic: sleek, slightly futuristic, and unmistakably fashion-forward. Instead of looking like conspicuous gadgets, the glasses resemble the kind of Y2K-inspired eyewear already dominating runways, K-pop airport photos, and downtown street style. They feel less like a Silicon Valley prototype and more like a cool girl accessory. Expect celebs and creators to start styling these immediately.

Pricing remains a mystery — though given Gentle Monster's positioning in the luxury market, these likely won't be impulse-buy territory. The brand's regular eyewear already tends to hover between roughly $250 and $400, with some statement styles climbing even higher.

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"We believe that for intelligent eyewear to become part of people's daily lives, it first must be great eyewear," Juston Payne, senior director of product management for Android XR at Google, told fashion trade WWD. "Eyewear is very personal — it is part of how people project who they are to the world."

That sentiment represents a major departure from earlier generations of wearable tech, which often prioritized utility over aesthetics. Products like Google Glass became cultural punchlines partly because they looked alienating and conspicuously futuristic. Wearing them announced not just that you liked technology, but that you wanted everyone else to know it.

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Diane von Furstenberg wears a pair of limited-edition DVF | Made for Glass Google Inc. glasses in 2014. Credit: Scott Eells/Bloomberg via Getty Images Meta tech exec Andrew Bosworth wears a pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses in 2024. Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The newer generation of smart glasses has taken a different route. Meta found success with its Ray-Ban collaboration by embedding cameras and AI features into familiar silhouettes instead of reinventing eyewear entirely. Now Google appears to be pushing even further into fashion territory by partnering with a brand that already possesses cultural credibility beyond tech circles.

That credibility is exactly what made Gentle Monster such an inspired choice. Over the past decade, the Seoul-based label has become known for its experimental silhouettes, celebrity co-signs, and immersive retail spaces that feel more like art installations than optical stores. The brand’s oversized frames and sculptural designs have turned eyewear into a genuine fashion statement, embraced by K-pop idols like BLACKPINK's Jennie and Stray Kids' Felix, models, and fashion obsessives alike.

The Gentle Monster (left) and Warby Parker (right) Android XR smart glasses made in partnership with Google and Samsung. Credit: Samsung

Google clearly understands what Gentle Monster brings to the table. "We have admired Gentle Monster’s work for many years," Payne told WWD, praising the brand's "iconoclastic approach" and ability to create emotional experiences around eyewear.

And honestly, that emotional connection may be the missing ingredient smart glasses have needed all along. Consumers were never going to embrace AI eyewear if the frames made them feel self-conscious.

That's especially true as AI hardware increasingly moves from novelty gadgets to lifestyle accessories. Smart glasses aren't being marketed as replacements for phones anymore, but as seamless extensions of existing digital habits. Google says Gemini will work alongside users' phones and apps, allowing wearers to interact with information while remaining visually engaged with the world around them.

But functionality alone won't sell this category. Style will.

And for perhaps the first time, tech companies seem to understand that the future of wearable AI may depend less on convincing people that smart glasses are useful — and more on convincing people they look cool. The catch is that the more invisible and stylish the technology becomes, the easier it may be to overlook the privacy concerns built into it.

Looking for more Google I/O announcements? Follow the Mashable Google I/O live blog to see all of the latest news on Gemini, Chrome, and Android.

Most off-the-shelf travel routers are only good for a handful of things. They can share a Wi-Fi network, run a VPN, and even share files. The travel router I built out of a Raspberry Pi can do everything a regular travel router can, but it can do almost anything else you can imagine. Here are 5 ways I've expanded what my travel router can do.

Luxury SUVs are often associated with expensive repairs, complicated technology, and long-term ownership headaches. While many premium brands prioritize flashy performance and cutting-edge features, reliability can sometimes take a back seat. That’s why this Japanese luxury SUV continues to stand out in a segment where dependability is becoming increasingly rare.

Google's I/O 2026 developer conference has finally wrapped, and the keynote was, truthfully, a bit of a snooze for non-developers. The headline Gemini news amounted to a half-step update in Gemini 3.5 Flash, with the word "agentic" getting a full workout.

Google is "building a new agentic era," as one executive put it on the stage. The big theme this year: let Gemini do the heavy lifting. Emails, dinner reservations, vacation planning, shopping — Gemini wants to be your everything solution. The twist is Google now wants it done autonomously, within limits, naturally.

Hardware was equally quiet. The most notable announcement was a pair of smart glasses the company is calling "audio glasses" — essentially Google's answer to Meta Ray-Bans, but leaning harder into style with collaborations from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. The goal seems to be making camera glasses that don't scream, "I am wearing camera glasses."

All told, it was a characteristically uneventful show — which, let's be honest, is basically the I/O keynote tradition at this point. But there was still plenty announced worth digging into, so here's the full rundown.

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Gemini 3.5 Flash is the new default model

Google launched the first model in the new Gemini 3.5 line today, and it's available now in the Gemini app and other Google AI products. Google execs said that a new flagship model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, would be coming in June.

Gemini 3.5 Flash beats most frontier models in benchmarks and token efficiency, according to Google. The company says it also surpasses Gemini 3.1 Pro in most respects. You can start using it right away at gemini.google.com.

Credit: Google Gemini Spark wants to run your life

The splashiest announcement of the keynote was Gemini Spark, a cloud-based AI agent that runs continuously in the background, handling tasks while you're busy doing everything else. As I wrote during its announcement, it's possibly the most ambitious thing Google has put on stage in a while. At least, the most ambitious of anything else announced at I/O today.

Powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash and built with Google's Antigravity coding IDE, Spark connects to Gmail, Docs, and eventually over 30 third-party apps, including Uber, OpenTable, Lyft, and Zillow. It rolls out to AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. next week.

To stop it from going rogue with your credit card, Google talked about Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), which caps what Spark can spend, where it can shop, and what it can buy. For now, you still approve every transaction. The company described Spark as a teenager getting their first debit card and stated that over time, the agent will get looser guardrails as trust is built.

Google's AI subscription tiers got cheaper

Google reshuffled its AI subscription lineup at I/O, and the headline is that things got more affordable. As I reported earlier, the new entry point for AI Ultra is $99.99/month — down from $250 — aimed at developers and power users, bundling Gemini 3.5 Flash, 5x the usage limits of Pro, priority access to Google Antigravity, 20TB of storage, and a full YouTube Premium plan. The $250 tier still exists but drops to $200. The full lineup now sits at AI Plus ($7.99), AI Pro ($19.99), and AI Ultra (starting at $99.99).

Credit: Google

Google is also ditching the per-prompt counting model in favor of measuring compute used, meaning a simple text query barely dents your limit while a complex video task costs more. Limits also now refresh every five hours instead of daily, and if you hit your cap, Google automatically steps you down to a lighter model rather than cutting you off entirely.

Gmail is getting a live voice mode

Gmail Live, a new feature reported by Mashable's Haley Henschel, lets you verbally ask your inbox questions instead of typing searches. The pitch is pretty straightforward — ask what your flight's gate number is or what's happening at your kid's school this week, and Gmail pulls the answer from your emails. Similar conversational features are also coming to Google Docs and Keep. Gmail Live rolls out this summer for AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, with a Workspace preview at the same time.

AI Inbox, which started as an Ultra-only feature earlier this year, is getting three new additions and broader access for Pro and Plus subscribers. The updates include personalized draft replies, instant access to relevant Docs and Sheets, and one-click task management to clear out inbox clutter. Those features start rolling out today. Gmail VP of product Blake Barnes said in a media pre-brief that user data isn't used for training on either feature, and that sourcing is being built in so you can see exactly which emails informed a given response.

Google Search gets its biggest overhaul in 25 years Credit: Google

Search — the thing that made Google Google — is getting another serious injection of AI. The company is throwing a lot at its flagship product this year, and most of it falls under the same "let Gemini handle it" umbrella that dominated the keynote.

SEE ALSO: Google I/O 2026: Even more AI is coming to Google Search

The most symbolically significant update might be the new intelligent AI Search Box, which Google is billing as the first redesign of its search box in over 25 years. The expanded box now supports natural language queries and lets you attach images, videos, files, and even Chrome tabs alongside your search. Basically, Google wants you to stop Googling and start... talking to Google.

Credit: Google / YouTube

AI Overviews is also getting a back-and-forth conversation mode. Users can now ask follow-up questions directly within the Overview, turning what was a static summary into more of a chatbot exchange. It's a logical evolution, even if it continues to beg the question of what happens to the websites that used to get that traffic.

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Search Agents

The bigger swing: Google introduced Search agents, which are essentially AI assistants that run 24/7 in the background, scanning news sites, blogs, and social media on your behalf. Google's example use cases — tracking apartment listings, monitoring sneaker drops — are genuinely useful, though the catch is that these information agents are locked to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers when they launch this summer.

The agentic push extends to shopping and booking too, where agents can surface live prices, availability, and direct booking links. Google is also letting agents make actual phone calls to businesses on your behalf — a feature rolling out to all users this summer.

Google is broadening access to Personal Intelligence in Search, its feature that connects your Gmail, Google Photos, and soon Google Calendar, so Search can factor in your personal context. It's opt-in, and Google is quick to note users maintain control over their data, which is the kind of thing you say when you know people are going to ask.

Rounding things out, Google is folding AI coding tools powered by Google Antigravity directly into Search, with a clear push toward non-developers. Think custom fitness trackers or wedding planning dashboards — Gemini for people who've never touched a line of code.

Google and Samsung's smart glasses are real, just unnamed Credit: Google

The hardware story of the show was the first real look at Android XR smart glasses. Google and Samsung pulled back the curtain on two styles — one in collaboration with Gentle Monster, one with Warby Parker — both arriving this fall. There's still no name and no price, but the design is clearly meant to avoid the "obviously tech glasses" look that has plagued the category.

Google is deliberately calling these "audio glasses" to distinguish them from future display glasses. Functionally, they're in the same territory as Meta's Ray-Bans — voice commands, phone pairing, hands-free assistance — but with deep Gemini integration baked in. Samsung handled the hardware, and Google handles the AI and Android XR platform.

Credit: Samsung Google Shopping gets an overhaul Credit: Google

Shopping reporter Samantha Mangino broke down three new Google Shopping features announced at I/O, and the headliner is Universal Cart — a single cart that aggregates everything you've added across retailers like Target and Amazon into one Google-side view, working in the background to flag price drops and restock alerts. It hits Google and Gemini in the US this summer, with Gmail and YouTube support to follow.

The bigger structural move is Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which lets AI agents complete purchases and hotel bookings directly through partners, including Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, and Meta. It also surfaces relevant fees and card rewards automatically so you know what you're actually paying before you check out.

Docs Live Credit: Google

Google announced Docs Live, a new feature that lets you dump your word vomit and thoughts into Gemini and have it turn them into a structured document in real time. From there, you can refine it conversationally — just tell Gemini what to fix, add, or cut, and it updates on the spot.

SynthID gets a big lift Credit: Google / YouTube

One of the bigger under-the-radar moments of the keynote: Google's AI digital watermarking tool SynthID is being adopted by OpenAI, Kakao, and ElevenLabs. The Google project is now becoming an industry standard in fighting against AI-generated content, and it's also a rare moment of cross-company alignment in the AI space.

In addition, SynthID will also be easily accessible in Chrome and Google Search. As Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in the keynote, that means users will be able to right-click and quickly see if an image or video contains a SynthID, and thus is likely AI-generated.

Gemini Omni is Google's new world model Credit: Google

Google unveiled Gemini Omni at I/O, its new multimodal world model. While Google is positioning it as a model that can "create anything from any output," the keynote demo leaned heavily into video generation. The first release in the family, Gemini Omni Flash, is available today for paid AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers in the Gemini app and Google Flow, with a free rollout to YouTube Shorts and YouTube Create later this week.

Unlike text-to-video tools like Veo, Omni is multimodal in both directions — you can feed it text, audio, images, or video, and it generates back accordingly. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis called it a "meaningful step" toward AGI at the keynote. The practical showcase was mostly about video editing through conversation, like swapping backgrounds, changing angles, and adjusting specific details in a clip. There's also an Avatar feature for creating a digital likeness of yourself, though Google says it's still being tested before a broader rollout. All Omni-generated videos get embedded with Google's SynthID watermark to identify them as AI-generated.

YouTube gets two updates, neither of them huge

YouTube got a relatively light showing at I/O compared to the rest of Google's product slate — but there were two things worth flagging.

Gemini Omni is coming to YouTube Shorts Remix, the platform's AI creation tool that generates videos from existing content. Creators will be able to use more advanced AI prompts to remix their Shorts, with AI-generated content labels and links back to the original source automatically applied. Google also expanded its likeness detection tool — which flags content where a creator's face has been AI-altered — to all creators 18 and older.

SEE ALSO: Google launches Gemini 3.5 Flash model. How to try it for free now.

The second update isn't on YouTube itself but inside Google Search. Ask YouTube lets users surface relevant YouTube videos directly within search results when asking complex questions. Think tutorial-style queries — how to fix something, how to learn something — where a video would actually be more useful than a text answer. It's still in testing but expected to roll out across the US this summer.

Apple Intelligence is coming to the company's industry-leading accessibility tools, including upgraded vision, captioning, and mobility features now enhanced with machine learning.

In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which falls on May 21, the tech giant announced a suite of new AI-powered capabilities for the Apple ecosystem, covering its most popular accessibility offerings like VoiceOver, Magnifier, Voice Control, and Reader.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft Teams won’t put everyone in a virtual room anymore — no more 'Together'-ness

"Apple’s approach to accessibility is unlike any other. Now, with Apple Intelligence, we are bringing powerful new capabilities into our accessibility features while maintaining our foundational commitment to privacy by design," said CEO Tim Cook.

Upgraded access tools

Many of the new upgrades come to Apple's vision and voice control tools, designed for users who are blind or have low vision and those with various ranges of mobility.

With Image Explorer, part of Apple's gesture-based screen reader known as VoiceOver, users can get more detailed descriptions of device displays and content. VoiceOver's Live Recognition feature can be activated by the iPhone Action button and respond to detailed follow-up questions.

Credit: Apple

Instead of relying on memorizing specific commands or locations on a screen, iPhone and iPad users will be able to use natural language commands to navigate their devices using Voice Control and on-device tools like Magnifier. That means a user can simply ask their device to "tap the orange folder" or "zoom in on that word," and the device will respond — Apple calls it the power to just "say what you see."

New way to caption content

Apple's AI can also automatically generate on-device subtitles for uncaptioned video, including content taken on-device by Apple users, video sent to users without captions, and even streamed video.

The company's Accessibility Reader tool is getting an upgrade that will make it possible to navigate complicated text, like scientific studies with columns, images, and tables, provide more on-demand summaries, and translate languages without changing custom formatting.

Apple Vision Pro for power wheelchair users

Last, but certainly not least, Apple is adding a feature to Apple Vision Pro that will allow power wheelchair users to navigate their mobility devices using just the virtual reality headset.

The company explained that the feature leverages the device's eye-tracking — technology already used to power alternative drive controls, device navigation, and communication tools for people with various disabilities — but requires less frequent calibration than typical drive control devices. Apple still recommends users only use Apple Vision Pro headsets in controlled environments without potential obstacles or inclement weather, however.

Credit: Apple

Additionally, Apple is making it easier to pair and hand off Made for iPhone hearing aids when switching devices, and add in human ASL interpreters to ongoing FaceTime calls. Apple tvOS is getting larger text support for people with low vision, and Name Recognition is expanding to 50 languages.

Apple said the upgraded tools and features will roll out later this year. The company also said it was expanding its collaborative Hikawa Grip & Stand line, a third-party accessibility accessory designed by artist Bailey Hikawa and released for a limited time last year.

Google wants to be your one and only workspace. Gmail and Drive can replace Outlook, Word, and Excel. Chat could replace Slack. But can the new Google Pics mean trouble for Canva?

At Google I/O, AI was front and center, and the basis for new features coming to Google Workspace. One of the new programs coming to Workspace is Google Pics, a platform for editing existing photos, creating photos from scratch, and designing flyers, graphics, and more. All of that sounds a lot like Canva, an online graphic design tool with free and paid tiers that lets you edit photos and make graphics.

Suz Chambers, Director of Google Creative Labs, demoed Google Pics live on stage at Google I/O. Credit: Google / Mashable

Google Pics is built off of Google's existing AI image creation platform Nano Banana. At Google I/O, Suz Chambers, Director of Google Creative Lab, demoed Google Pics, cropping an existing photo, editing out an unwanted object, and adding text to the picture to create a graphic. Tasks that, for the record, could also be completed within Canva.

Will Google Pics be an enticing switch for Canva users? Well, that's still to be seen, as the program is in the testing phase with plans to launch this summer for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Meanwhile, Canva is free and available to all.

If you suffer from the debilitating condition known as Ijustcantdecide, as I do, sometimes you need someone to do the digging for you and spit out a few curated suggestions for a good movie to watch. Paramount+ is not lacking for good movies, new and old, and this lineup for the work week for U.S. subscribers hits the nail right on the head.

Most of us rely on the convenience of Android Auto to handle music in our cars, and given how streaming is so dominant at home, it's natural to default to apps like Spotify or YouTube Music on the road too. However, streaming is not the best fit for driving—playing music stored on your phone offers a far better experience.

Google offered plenty of in-the-weeds AI agent announcements at Google I/O on Tuesday. But here's one agentic feature tailored to the average user: a Daily Brief.

The opt-in service, available from today for Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers in the U.S., sorts your day out from multiple sources, including your email and calendar. It then summarizes what you've got coming up in a way that Google hopes is more useful than a simple to-do list.

Looking for more Google I/O announcements? Follow the Mashable Google I/O live blog to see all of the latest news on Gemini, Chrome, and Android.

The Daily Brief opens with a "top of mind" section, based on what Google's Gemini AI decides should be your most urgent focus.

"Coordinate your high-stakes Sunday morning," began the example shown by Google Labs and Gemini VP Josh Woodward, noting that his family would have a lot of travel that day.

SEE ALSO: YouTube: 2 new announcements from Google I/O

If any of that sounds familiar, it's because Daily Brief was based on a Google Labs feature called CC, which was so popular it still has a waitlist. CC emails included a "top of mind" and an "FYI" section, followed by a calendar summary of the day.

"Daily Brief gives you a seamless, intuitive entry point into the world of AI agents," Woodward wrote in a blog post.

Whether the promise of Daily Brief emails is enough for average users to sign up for Plus, Pro, and Ultra accounts — $8 per month, $20 per month, and $100-$200 per month, respectively — remains to be seen. But here, at least, is a concrete example of how agents can make a busy user's life easier.

Word of the day: Tokenmaxxing. That's how Google CEO Sundar Pichai introduced this year's Google I/O conference, a reference to the sheer mass of AI processing (we're talking quadrillions, folks) happening around the world.

It's a fact: Google has made a full pivot to AI. And depending on which of its dozens of products you use the most, it may or may not be taking over your life, too. But among a plethora of AI model updates and new, multimodal ways to generate synthetic videos announced today, Google unveiled only a few new upgrades for the YouTube lovers, the world's most-watched video platform.

Looking for more Google I/O announcements? Follow the Mashable Google I/O live blog to see all of the latest news on Gemini, Chrome, and Android.

YouTube Shorts get Gemini Omni

Google unveiled its new AI world model, Gemini Omni, early on in the event, explaining that its new two-directional multimodal capabilities make it capable of "creating anything from any output."

Omni will now be available in YouTube Shorts Remix, a platform creation tool that generates videos from existing content online. With Omni, users can remix their shorts with more advanced AI prompts. The company noted that Shorts made with Omni will automatically sport an AI-generated content label and related metadata, with links back to the original content.

In addition, YouTube is expanding its likeness detection tool, which "helps creators find content on YouTube where their face appears to be altered or generated by AI," to all creators 18 years or older.

Ask YouTube: New way to search

Google's second YouTube-related update isn't on the platform at all, but a new integrated, conversational way to search Google and YouTube at once. With Ask YouTube, Googlers will see relevant YouTube videos directly inside Google Search results.

Basically, when searching for specific or complex questions — like how to teach your child how to ride a bike, for example — users can watch tutorials or related videos right from the search page, and navigate through a tailored, interactive response generated by Google's AI Mode. Google said it "entirely reimagines" the search experience.

The feature is still being tested, but will roll out broadly across the U.S. this summer.