IT General

Acer is upgrading one of its premium convertible Chromebooks with more AI prowess. Announced Wednesday at IFA 2025 in Berlin, the latest Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (CP514-5HN) packs a new MediaTek Kompanio Ultra chip that has a neural processing unit (NPU) with up to 50 TOPS (or trillions of operations per second), enabling a pair of exclusive software features.

The Spin 514 is the only Chromebook Plus with an NPU besides the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, which has the same processor. Like its counterpart, the Spin 514 comes with a free trial of Google AI Pro that unlocks 12 months of access to advanced AI tools like Veo 3 Fast and NotebookLM. It's an AI smorgasbord.

"With powerful performance, AI tools, and robust and premium build, the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 will empower creators, employees, and teachers to create, work, and be productive from anywhere," James Lin, General Manager of Notebooks at Acer, said in a press release.

One configuration of the Spin 514 is now available on Acer's website for $799.99; another will hit Best Buy's shelves later this month for $100 less, and I was one of the first people to try it before its launch. I've only spent an afternoon with it so far, so I haven't given it a formal rating just yet (as per our laptop testing methodology), but my initial impressions of it are positive. Splashy AI features aside, it's just a really nice budget 2-in-1 laptop.

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 specs and availability Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Acer sent me a Spin 514 (model number CP514-1HN-K6DY) with the following specs:

• MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 processor

• Arm Immortalis-G925 MC11 integrated graphics

• 12GB RAM

• 256GB UFS storage

• 14-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS touchscreen display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 16:10 aspect ratio, and stylus support (sold separately)

• 1080p webcam (see below)

• WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4

• Non-backlit keyboard

• Two USB-C ports and a headphone jack on the left side; two USB-A ports and a Kensington lock slot on the right

While my review unit came equipped with a 1080p webcam, the final version you can soon purchase at Best Buy will have a better 5MP webcam. It's priced at $699.99 and set to launch sometime later this month.

Acer started selling another configuration on its website for $799.99 on Sept. 4 (model number CP514-5HN-K4ZE). It comes with 16GB of RAM, a fingerprint reader, and a backlit keyboard, and its display has a higher 2.8K resolution but a lower 60Hz refresh rate.

Opens in a new window Credit: Acer Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (CP514-1HN-K6DY) $699.99 at Best Buy
Learn More Opens in a new window Credit: Acer Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (CP514-5HN-K4ZE) $799.99 at Acer.com
Shop Now Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 design Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The 2025 Spin 514 measures 12.32 x 9.13 x 0.61 inches and weighs three pounds, making it only slightly bulkier than an M4 MacBook Air. (Apple's 13-inch model weighs 2.7 pounds and measures 0.44 inches thin.) It's certainly svelte and portable, even if it's not the most thin-and-light laptop available.

The Spin 514 is on the pricier side for a Chromebook, but its design feels aptly premium, and I'm impressed by its build quality. There's zero give to its lid when I press down in the center of it. Its hinge wiggles a little bit when I adjust or tap its screen, but it holds very sturdy and doesn't creak when I flip the display around into tent mode. The Spin 514's lid can rotate a full 360 degrees to lay flat in tablet mode, too.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Spin 514 is military-grade MIL-STD810H compliant, which basically means it's been tested for extreme durability. Acer says it can survive four-foot drops and 25,000 open/close cycles, to which I say: Let's get YouTube's tech-it on the case.

Aesthetically, the Spin 514 is an attractive laptop that's just flashy enough for my taste. It has an aluminum exterior with reflective metallic accents on its hinges and the outer edges of its top cover, which match the iridescent "Acer" logo in the middle of the lid. Its Platinum Silver finish picks up fingerprints pretty easily, though.

The Spin 514's keyboard cover is made from matte plastic, but it doesn't feel cheap and matches the rest of the chassis for a cohesive look. I had to hold it right up to my eyeballs to even notice that it's a different material.

Display Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Spin 514's upper and lower bezels are a little chunky, but the touchscreen itself is pretty and responsive. My review unit didn't come with a stylus, so I did all of my scrolling and tapping with a fingertip. Big ups to the fact that it has a 120Hz refresh rate, which made a Fortnite match and a few fast-moving scenes in YouTube videos look silky smooth. (The Spin 514 isn't technically a gaming Chromebook, but it's workable for light cloud gaming.) It's always nice to see this spec on cheaper laptops.

Text and tinier details didn't seem blurry on my Spin 514, so without having tried its other configuration, I wouldn't spend an extra $100 for a higher-res display with a worse refresh rate. Maybe consider upgrading if you desperately need the extra four gigs of RAM, but 12GB is already a lot for a Chromebook (and so is $700).

The screen on my Spin 514 is rated at only 300 nits of brightness, so I usually used it cranked all the way up to max. The pricier model's display offers up to 340 nits, which is a negligible difference.

Keyboard and touchpad Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Spin 514's keyboard is great, for the most part — snappy, comfortable, and well-spaced — but it gets docked a few points for having a hollow-sounding space bar and lacking backlighting as well as a fingerprint reader. Again, both are available in the pricier configuration.

Of special note, there are dedicated keys for the Launcher (a searchable start menu) and for a "Quick Insert" tool. The latter shares a spot with the caps lock.

The keyboard is made from Acer's "OceanGlass" material. It's technically ocean-bound plastic, but it really does feel quite a lot like glass: It's soft and smooth like velvet. Acer says it's moisture-resistant, so accidental coffee spills probably won't be a cause for panic.

Speakers Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Spin 514 has upward-firing speakers running down both sides of its keyboard. They're a little tinny, but they're not the worst-sounding laptop speakers I've ever tried (and there are some absolute stinkers out there). I've been listening to Fleetwood Mac's 1997 live performance of "Silver Springs" almost every day for the past couple of weeks while learning it on the piano; on the Spin 514, the audio is missing some bass and depth but otherwise clear. The positioning of the speakers prevents them from sounding muffled.

Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 performance

The Spin 514 has a fan, unlike Lenovo's Chromebook Plus 14, but I couldn't get it to turn on during a quick stress test with 20 Chrome tabs open and two apps running (YouTube and Recorder). It ran quiet and almost completely cool; the fan vent on the bottom side of the machine barely got warm.

In the Android version of Primate Labs' Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark, our other performance test for Chromebooks, the Spin 514 got a multi-core score of 7,187. That makes it the second-fastest model we've tried after the heftier Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE, which notched a score of 7,660. It beats eight other models we've tried over the course of the past two years, including an $819 HP Chromebook x360 14c (4,318) and a $699 Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 (5,223).

Google AI features

Chromebook Plus models support a suite of AI features that you won't find on regular Chromebooks. The Spin 514's NPU adds two extra exclusives to the mix: a tab-sorting project management tool called "smart grouping" and an on-device image editor within the Gallery app. I briefly tried both.

To test smart grouping, I pulled up five tabs about the same topic (horseback riding near me) and three unrelated tabs in a single Chrome window. When I pressed the F4 key, a bubble appeared in the lower left-hand corner, prompting me to organize a topic called "Chicago Horse Riding Information" in a new "desk." Clicking that button pulled all of the horseback riding-related tabs into a separate workspace while keeping the other tabs in my original desk. I tend to be a tab minimalist, but I can see how this would be immensely useful for multitaskers who keep a mishmash of websites and windows open at once.

Left: Before and after smart-grouping my tabs. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable Right: Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The Gallery app's AI image editor includes tools that can expand and remove pictures' backgrounds, erase parts of a scene, and make stickers. I played around with them using a photo of a hot dog I took at a Cubs game last month, and most of the results were pretty clunky and fake-looking.

My original picture of the beautiful Chicago dawg. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable The picture with its background "expanded" using AI. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable The picture with its background removed. (The "make a sticker" tool produced an identical result.) Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable I tried to erase the pickle in this one. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Smart grouping and the Gallery app's image editor are both still "experimental" (in beta) and may improve with time.

Battery life

I haven't run a formal battery life test on the Spin 514 yet, but Acer has it rated at up to 17 hours of web browsing per charge. If it lives up to that number, that would put it well over the nine-hour minimum we expect to squeeze from Chromebooks.

Who should get the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514? Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Based on my few hours with the Spin 514 so far, I think it's a great pick for early AI adopters, but also just anyone who wants a solid budget 2-in-1 laptop with a premium design and good amount of power for the price. Its main rival is obviously the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, which offers a brighter (non-touch) OLED display, quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, and a backlit keyboard for $649.99, or $50 cheaper. However, it starts with half the storage and can't double as a tablet.

The Spin 514's battery life will be a big determining factor in my final analysis, so stay tuned.

UPDATE: Sep. 4, 2025, 1:05 p.m. EDT Listings for the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (CP514-5HN) are now live. Acer originally priced the upgraded model at $749.99, but it's actually retailing for $799.99 on its website. We've updated this story accordingly.

PayPal and Venmo users in the U.S. and certain global markets are getting free early access to Perplexity Comet, the search engine startup's AI-powered browser.

On Wednesday, PayPal, which owns Venmo, announced a partnership with Perplexity as part of its new subscriptions hub, for managing subscriptions linked to PayPal. This is part of an offer for a free 12-month trial of Perplexity Pro, which offers premium features like unlimited searches with advanced models and access to third party models from OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, and Grok. This subscription normally costs $200 a year.

Perplexity launched Comet in July as a browser that weaves generative AI into the web-browsing experience. Specifically, that includes stuff like an AI assistant in the sidebar and AI models that can do the searching for you across the web and open tabs. Comet can also take action on your behalf, such as adding items to your shopping cart and managing your inbox and calendar. Of course all of these features require extensive access to your data, so any semblance of privacy basically goes out the window. Even though Perplexity stores most of the data on your device, you're still giving Perplexity access to your email, browsing behavior, and more.

When Comet launched, it was initially available only to Perplexity Max ($200 a month) users, but has since rolled out to Perplexity Pro subscribers. Mashable got early access to the AI browser and tested out some of its features. We liked some of the summarization features and the sidecar AI assistant, but the agentic capabilities, i.e. the features that can do shopping and ordering for you, simply didn't work well enough to replace the handful of quick steps a human normally does.

However, Venmo and PayPal users no longer have to weigh the cost-benefit analysis of signing up for Perplexity Comet. Now you get a whole year to try it out. Just remember that the true cost might be what's left of your privacy.

How to sign up

There are a few different ways to redeem your free Perplexity Pro trial:

• Directly in the PayPal app or Venmo app

• Through a marketing email you may have received

• A dedicated Perplexity landing page

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

In a move it's calling "one of the most significant changes in the company’s 16-year history," ExpressVPN has switched to a tiered pricing structure. As of Sept. 2, the popular VPN provider now offers three types of subscriptions with varying levels of features, more simultaneous connections, and lower long-term pricing options.

ExpressVPN previously had one membership option that cost $6.67 to $12.95 per month, depending on the length of the subscription and available promotions. It was generally one of the most expensive premium VPN services available (something we knocked it for in our review).

Going forward, ExpressVPN is offering three different membership tiers starting well under $5 per month, putting it more in line with competitors like NordVPN and Surfshark. ExpressVPN has also increased its cap of eight simultaneous connections per subscription to a minimum of 10, making one plan usable across more devices.

ExpressVPN introduces tiered pricing plans. Credit: ExpressVPN

"This marks a fundamental shift in how ExpressVPN is offered, built on the reality that the internet has changed along with your privacy needs," the company wrote in a blog post.

The new tiers are:

• Basic Plan: Subscribers get access to the VPN on up to 10 devices at a time. It comes with a kill switch, a tracker blocker, split tunneling on most platforms, and ExpressVPN's Lightning protocol, which is designed for speed and efficiency. Prices range from $3.49 per month for 28 months to $12.99 on a monthly basis.

• Advanced Plan: In addition to the VPN, users get a built-in ad blocker, a password manager, and an ID theft tool suite called "Identity Defender" that includes fraud alerts, theft protection, and a credit scanner. ExpressVPN Advanced subscribers can use the service on up to 12 devices. Prices start at $4.49 per month for 28 months and max out at $13.99 month to month. Yearly subscribers get a bonus three days of unlimited international mobile data via eSIM.

• Pro Plan: On top of everything included in the Advanced tier, ExpressVPN Pro subscribers get a dedicated IP address, two extra Identity Defender features (a data removal tool and monthly credit reports), and up to 14 simultaneous connections. Prices range from $7.49 per month for 28 months to $19.99 per month. Long-term subscribers get five days of unlimited international mobile data via eSIM.

Advanced and Pro subscribers also receive discounts on ExpressVPN's AirCove WiFi 6 routers, which come with its VPN pre-installed. All of the new ExpressVPN plans are covered by its existing no-logs policy and usual 30-day money-back guarantee.

SEE ALSO: There are only 2 free VPNs I actually recommend. Ignore all the rest.

Existing ExpressVPN subscribers' plans won't change unless they want them to, the company said. "When your renewal comes up, you’ll have the option to switch to Basic, Advanced, or Pro," it wrote in the blog post. "But you won’t lose features you already rely on, and you won’t be downgraded without your consent."

This subscription change doesn't come with any new features. Credit: ExpressVPN

It's worth noting that ExpressVPN hasn't rolled out any new features as part of this subscription shakeup — it's just redistributing its existing offerings. (Also, its dedicated IP is no longer an add-on that requires a separate purchase.)

It's important to remember that these features won't make the VPN itself any better or more customizable, but they're nice to have if you're trying to improve your overall online security. ExpressVPN alluded to this in its blog post: "All of our plans are built on the same foundations: speed, privacy, and trust," it wrote. "But now you can choose how far beyond VPN you want to go."

ExpressVPN was founded in 2009, making it one of the oldest providers on the market. It has servers in 105 countries worldwide and offers apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Apple TV, and select routers. Last month, it published its latest transparency report detailing its responses to legal requests so far this year.

Read Mashable's full review of ExpressVPN. It was written before the new pricing tiers took effect, so we'll update it soon.

SAVE UP TO $20: As of Sept. 4, the day the NFL season kicks off for 2025, NFL+ annual plans are on sale for 20% off. Get NFL+ for $39.99 per year (reg. $49.99) or NFL+ Premium for just $79.99 per year (reg. $99.99).

NFL+ annual plan deals: SAVE 20% NFL+ $39.99 per year (save $10) Get Deal SAVE 20% NFL+ Premium $79.99 per year (save $20) Get Deal

The 2025 NFL season kicks off tonight. If you haven't sorted out the complicated streaming lineup yet, you might want to get on it. Don't say I didn't warn you. While you'll need a handful of different subscriptions in order to watch every game, you can get a good chunk of them using NFL+. And if you sign up in the next week and a half, you'll save 20%.

Through Sept. 15, yearly NFL+ and NFL+ Premium plans are on sale for just $39.99 per year (reg. $49.99) and $79.99 per year (reg. $99.99), respectively. That's 20% in savings on either plan. Promotional pricing applies to this year only; once the year is up, you'll automatically be charged full price ($49.99 or $99.99 annually) until you cancel.

NFL+ is the NFL's official subscription service, and it offers two tiers: NFL+ and NFL+ Premium. The basic tier gives you access to national broadcasts and in-market games, as well as NFL Network. NFL+ Premium also unlocks access to NFL RedZone and game replays (full, condensed, and all-22 coaches film). Neither option includes out-of-market games (you'll need the NFL Sunday Ticket for that).

Our main qualm with NFL+ is that live games can only be viewed on mobile devices, regardless of which tier you choose. While I'm sure you can figure out a way to cast your phone or tablet to your TV, it's certainly not the most streamlined choice for watching games. Nevertheless, it does offer access to a solid amount of in-market games for a decent price. If you're rooting for your home team, it's a deal worth looking into. At 20% off, we're definitely more inclined to recommend it.

No more fiddling with settings or learning Photoshop. Samsung Galaxy AI tools handle the tricky stuff so you can just snap and get creative. Want to remove that random stranger? Easy. Add in some fun drawings? Also super easy.

Threads, Instagram's Twitter dupe, is rolling out the ability to attach text to a post, allowing up to 10,000 additional characters. Talk about TL;DR.

In all seriousness, it could prove a useful tool. It's a way to share longer blocks of writing without posting a massive wall of text, since it takes the form of an attachment. Importantly, you'll still be able to link to the origin, too. So, if you're, say, a writer, then you can share a portion of your article while also directing folks to your website.

SEE ALSO: Who is actually using Threads?

Prior to this shift, Threads had a 500-character limit, which could hinder posting longer ideas. The vision behind the text attachment is that it can replace often difficult-to-read screenshots that served as workarounds for the character limit.

"This gives people more room to express themselves and the ability for them to easily promote and drive people to their work wherever it lives," Meta noted about the new feature.

X, meanwhile, has long allowed some users to post extra text, but this feature is limited to paid users. Folks with a free account have access to just 280 characters. Bluesky, another popular Twitter dupe, has a 300-character limit.

How to use the text attachment feature

Using the text attachment on Threads is pretty simple. You just have to click the new "text" icon to make an attachment. You can then either copy and paste the additional text or draft it right in the attachment feature. If you want the source material to display prominently, you just need to make sure to link to it in the body of the post and not the attachment itself. Then boom, you're set to share way more text.

SAVE 41%: Get the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 on sale at Amazon for $469, down from the list price of $799. That's a discount of $330.

Opens in a new window Credit: Jackery Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 $469 at Amazon
$799 Save $330 Get Deal

The future is unpredictable, and while we've come pretty far in predicting the weather, no system is perfect. The local news can often warn of major storms, but there's no telling which storms will knock out power. Instead of relying on fate to keep you powered up, go with a portable power station. Thanks to post-Labor Day sales at Amazon, there's a great deal today on a model that'll keep you charged up.

As of Sept. 4, the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is on sale at Amazon for $469, marked down from the standard price of $799. That works out to a 41% discount, shaving a major $330 off the price.

Portable power stations are some of the most useful tech advancements we've had in years. Jackery makes tons of great models, and the Explorer 1000 v2 packs in 1,070Wh of battery capacity. The v2 uses a durable and long-lasting LiFePO4 battery, which will take 4,000 charging cycles before it only recharges back to 70%. That would take over 10 years if the battery gets depleted each day.

SEE ALSO: The Anker Solix C800 portable power station is down to its best-ever price at Amazon

In real-life terms, 1,070Wh can recharge your phone over 70 times or recharge your laptop about 14 times. Charging ports include three standard AC options, two USB-C ports, and one USB-A port. With the Jackery app, you can recharge the Explorer 1000 v2 back to 100% in just one hour with emergency charging activated. To preserve battery health, standard charging with AC wall power will take about 1.7 hours.

Before the next storm hits, get better equipped for a power outage with the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 for just $469 at Amazon. Keep your devices charged when your power next goes out, so you can stay connected.

One of the most hyped video games in years finally came out on Thursday morning, and the most popular digital storefronts couldn't handle it at all.

I'm talking, of course, about Hollow Knight: Silksong.

The highly anticipated sequel to 2017's Hollow Knight officially launched at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, following several years of radio silence and an exciting re-emergence just a couple of weeks ago. Multiple other indie games had to move their release dates so they wouldn't compete directly with Silksong. It's a big deal.

Unfortunately, as my social feed shows, gamers are having a real hard time actually buying it.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. SEE ALSO: 'Hollow Knight: Silksong' is causing other games to delay their own launch

Many of my friends on Bluesky posted screenshots of the Nintendo Switch 2 eShop crashing when trying to purchase Silksong. Steam and the PlayStation Store have also reportedly experienced issues, per Kotaku. Nintendo actually had to bring down the eShop temporarily for maintenance, which is not something you normally see related to any individual game, much less an indie side-scroller that costs $20.

Of course, that low price point, combined with years of endearing community love for the original game, can help explain why this launch is such a burden on digital storefronts. It should also be noted that pre-ordering and preloading the game were not possible on any platform, which is not normally how game launches work. At the time of writing, it sounds like people are finally able to download and play Silksong, though I still received a 503 error when I tried to access the Nintendo online store. (Steam seems to be working fine.)

What are you waiting for? Go out there and check it out, if you're so inclined.

FREE GALAXY SMARTTAG2: As of Sept. 4, buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE earbuds and get a free Galaxy SmartTag 2 at Amazon. That's a discount of 17% if you were to buy the two items separately.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Buy Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE and get a free Galaxy SmartTag 2 $149.99 at Amazon
$179.98 Save $29.99 Get Deal

A new pair of earbuds is always a treat. But so is getting something for free. If you love listening to your favorite music in style and you love bonuses, this Amazon deal was made for you — especially if you're an Android user looking for more tech to add to the ecosystem.

As of Sept. 4, buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE earbuds and get a free Galaxy SmartTag 2 for $149.99 at Amazon. The bundle's normal price is $179.98, which includes the retail price of $29.99 for the SmartTag 2, so this deal gives you a total discount of 17%. The bundle includes both items automatically, so you don't have to do anything special to snag the free SmartTag 2.

SEE ALSO: The 8 best earbuds to buy in 2025, selected by Mashable audio experts

The newly-released Galaxy Buds 3 FE just debuted, and offer upgraded audio from their previous iteration. These wireless Bluetooth earbuds come with active noise cancellation (ANC) thanks to their "blade design," according to Samsung, and include pinch and swipe controls to adjust the volume and change tracks. They offer 6 hours of battery life with ANC on and up to 8.5 hours without, and the included charging case gives you up to 30 additional hours of listening time.

Plus, they offer quality microphones for calls, AI features like real-time translation via Galaxy AI on your Galaxy smartphone, hands-free voice commands, and other niceties upgraded from the previous model.

If you're someone prone to losing things, the Galaxy SmartTag 2 can help you keep tabs on your items. You never know when you're going to have to find a lost bag or wallet. Or worse. With this deal available until Sept. 28, now's a good time to capitalize and get the free smart tracker, which Amazon notes will ship separately from the earbuds.

I miss the days of tactile buttons on phones where you could work with muscle memory alone. Hardware shortcuts don't feel like a priority for OEMs anymore, but if you prefer them, like I do, here's what you can do.

TL;DR: Live stream Bulgaria vs. Spain in World Cup qualifiers for free on RTVE. Access this free streaming site from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Spain begin their qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup with an away trip to Bulgaria. Fresh from winning Euro 2024, they'll be looking to double up next summer. Of course, they've done this before when they won back-to-back European Championships in 2008 and 2012 with the 2010 World Cup wedged in-between. That was arguably the best-ever international side, so this new generation have got a tough act to follow.

If you want to watch Bulgaria vs. Spain in World Cup qualifiers for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Bulgaria vs. Spain?

Bulgaria vs. Spain in World Cup qualifiers kicks off at 7:45 p.m. BST on Sept. 4. This fixture takes place at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.

How to watch Bulgaria vs. Spain for free

Bulgaria vs. Spain in World Cup qualifiers is available to live stream for free on RTVE.

RTVE is geo-restricted to Spain, but anyone can access this free streaming service with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Spain, meaning you can access free live streams on RTVE from anywhere in the world.

Lve stream Bulgaria vs. Spain for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Spain

4. Visit RTVE

5. Stream Bulgaria vs. Spain for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Bulgaria vs. Spain in World Cup qualifiers without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select World Cup qualifiers before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming sites from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for RTVE?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTVE, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Spain

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.95 (including money-back guarantee).

Live stream Bulgaria vs. Spain in World Cup qualifiers for free with ExpressVPN.

SAVE $24.97: As of Sept. 4, the day the NFL season kicks off for 2025, a new streaming bundle has arrived to save you money. Get ESPN Unlimited, Disney+, Hulu, and NFL+ Premium for just $39.99 per month for your first 12 months. If bought separately, these services would cost you $64.96; so this deal saves you nearly $25 every month.

Opens in a new window Credit: Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN / NFL+ ESPN Unlimited, Disney+, Hulu, and NFL+ Premium bundle $39.99/month for 12 months Get Deal

Cutting the cord isn't quite the money-saver it used to be, given that every streaming service is continually jacking up its costs. Bundling multiple services together is the best way to keep some extra dollars in your pocket. And a new bundle just launched to help sports fans do just that.

Just in time for the 2025 NFL season kick-off, you can get ESPN Unlimited, Disney+, Hulu, and NFL+ Premium for just $39.99 per month for your first 12 months. Considering the ESPN Unlimited and NFL+ Premium bundle is the same price, you'll essentially be getting Hulu and Disney+ (valued at $9.99/month each) for free for an entire year. ESPN Unlimited, the newly launched streaming tier, costs $29.99 per month on its own, while NFL+ Premium costs $14.99 per month. So, technically, if you paid for each of the four services separately, it would run you $64.96. At $39.99 per month, you'll be saving nearly $25 per month.

The new bundle isn't a huge surprise, given that ESPN is acquiring NFL Network. Still, it's a welcome addition to the streaming-verse and perhaps the best sports streaming option for the upcoming NFL season. Bundle subscribers will get access to Monday night football games that air on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN+, exclusive games that air on NFL Network, live local and primetime games all season long on mobile, and NFL RedZone. While that doesn't cover every game, it does give you access to a pretty big helping of in-market and primetime games throughout the season.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. After 12 months, ESPN states that your bundle price will go back to full price, although it doesn't say how much that will be, so be sure to cancel before the year is up to avoid that charge.

Google Photos is updating its image-to-video feature with Veo 3, Google's popular generative AI video model.

In July, the tech giant introduced a way for U.S. users to turn their photos into videos within Google Photos. As of Thursday, this feature is now powered by Veo 3.

Turning images into videos using generative AI has become a popular novelty for meme-ifying static images or bringing cherished photos to life. Several AI startups like Runway, Pika, Freepik, and Kling AI were among the first to capitalize on the very social media-friendly trend. And tech heavyweights like OpenAI and xAI have gotten into the game with their Sora and Grok models. However, Veo 3 is widely considered to be the most advanced AI video model, at least, for now.

With the Google Photos feature, users select a photo they want to turn into a video in the Create tab and choose between two prompts: "Subtle movement" or "I'm feeling lucky." Image and video models are expensive to run, which might explain why users have limited options over how they want to transform the image. Other companies will let users create a video with open-ended descriptions, but require a subscription.

Google Photos users get a limited number of generations every day. But subscribers to Google AI Pro ($20 a month) and Google AI Ultra ($200 a month) get higher daily limits.

In addition to the update launched today, Google Photos has pre-existing photo editing features using generative AI. This includes remixing photos into a new style, creating and editing collages, making a video highlight reel, turning photos into 3D images with Cinematic Photos, and animating still images into a GIF. All of these features are available in the Create tab on Google Photos.

XGIMI just revealed a trio of brand-new 4K home theater projectors. All three of the new "Horizon 20" projectors are available for pre-order today with specially discounted early-bird pricing.

Anthologies let you watch a show in any order while carrying an overarching theme or genre that ties their parts together. You can build your own adventure and not worry about nail-biting cliffhangers or unsatisfying endings.

A history exhibit commissioned by President Donald Trump's White House relies on AI-generated videos of the founding fathers and other historical figures from revolutionary times. The "Road to Liberty" exhibit at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. features dozens of AI videos that bring "America’s founding to life through cinematic storytelling." It's a bit weird and, at times, inaccurate.

Gizmodo covered the exhibit in detail, noting that the PragerU-created "Founders Museum" shows a "rather distorted view of America’s founding." (PragerU is a conservative nonprofit that makes educational content, though it has come under fire from liberals for presenting rightwing content as purely educational.) An uncanny valley, AI-generated John Adams, for instance, says "facts do not care about our feelings," which is the infamous tagline of rightwing figure Ben Shapiro. Obviously, John Adams did not actually coin that phrase, and it seems to be a deliberate troll on the part of PragerU.

At the Road to Liberty website, visitors can see 62 AI-generated videos featuring historical figures.

The White House told NPR that the goal was to use AI so that "these people, places and events come to life, making history engaging to Americans across the country." However, experts who spoke to NPR said they were worried about the portrayal of the founding fathers

"While the project to bring the founders and the signers of the Declaration of Independence into focus is one that many historians admire and would support," William G. Thomas, vice president of the research division at the American Historical Association, told NPR, "I think there's some concerns about how that's done in this case."

If nothing else, the AI founding fathers appear a bit strange — at least to this reporter. And, as Gizmodo pointed out, the John Adams video features the odd AI habit of creating people with extra or missing fingers. That's something you'd expect from AI slop posted online, but perhaps not a White House-sponsored exhibit on the nation's history.

Google has some new smart home products on the way.

That's not coming from a leaker, by the way. This time, it's straight from the mothership. Google announced on X that Gemini would be coming to Google Home, promising more information on Oct. 1. Google showed off some of Gemini's smart home capabilities at its Made by Google event last month, so it seems like now would be the time to formally announce some devices that can take advantage of those.

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There have been some rumors and leaks about these new devices. A recent batch of leaks suggested there will be a new speaker, new indoor and outdoor cameras, and a new video doorbell. Google hasn't refreshed the Nest product lineup in a few years, so these updates might be sorely needed. Gemini will enable more naturalistic conversations with these devices, as well as multimodal features, such as the ability to talk to your device about what your security camera saw throughout the day.

We'll all find out together how true this is on Oct. 1.

FREE SMARTWATCH: As of Sept. 4, get a free OnePlus Watch 2 with the purchase of a OnePlus 13 smartphone. This deal won't last — it's over once all 700 watches have been claimed.

Opens in a new window Credit: OnePlus OnePlus Watch 2 $0 at OnePlus
$299 Save $299 Get a free OnePlus smartwatch with the purchase of a OnePlus 13. Get Deal

If you think there's no alternative to the big names in smartphones, think again. OnePlus has burst through the crowd of Apple, Google, and Samsung to bring forth a strong contender in the smartphone game. We've named the OnePlus 13 one of the best smartphones of 2025, so if you're thinking of buying one, now is a great time since you get a free smartwatch with purchase.

As of Sept. 4, get a free OnePlus Watch 2 with the purchase of a OnePlus 13 phone — just select which color watch you want before adding to checkout. This deal is on offer for a limited time and only lasts until all 700 watches have been claimed. As reported by our sibling site ZDNET, once all watches have been claimed, shoppers can use the code BACK2COLLEGE to receive $100 off a OnePlus 13.

The OnePlus Watch 2 comes with a Snapdragon W5 and BES2700 chipsets. It boasts an insane battery life of up to 100 hours and has a bright 1.43-inch AMOLED watch face. It monitors daily activity and stress monitoring, with over 100+ different sports modes. Similar to an Apple Watch, it can even autodetect activity.

Since you need to purchase a OnePlus 13 to get the free OnePlus Watch 2, you may be wondering why you should go for it. It's a great smartphone, and like the smartwatch, it boasts impressive battery life at 24 hours of playback. It jumps smoothly between apps and has a nice camera to boot. So if you're looking for an Android alternative to the Googles and Samsungs of the world, the OnePlus 13 is a nice option.

The first alpha version of Kodi 22, code-named "Piers," has just been released. The updates came with a big audio/video upgrade to FFmpeg 7, new Blu-ray support for multi-episode discs, and a redesigned Movie Versions/Extras section. There are also some major improvements for PVR.

I don’t remember the last time I manually typed text from an image on my Android phone. That’s because there are several free tools available to copy text from photos on my phone, and I’ll share with you what those options are.