IT General

Updated at 3:57 p.m. CT: Spotify has confirmed the outage is resolved. The @SpotifyStatus account on X shared an update on Tuesday afternoon, stating that the service is all clear and thanking users for their patience. The company didn't explain what caused the outage, but directed users still experiencing issues to contact community support through email.

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You can read our original report below.

Spotify is down, and the company has confirmed it's working on the problem — though it hasn't said much beyond that.

According to the Spotify Status account on X, the music streaming service acknowledged user complaints about an app outage on Tuesday and said it was looking into the issue. Users reaching out to Spotify on X report login issues, long loading times, and black screens.

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Per DownDetector (which is owned by Mashable parent company Ziff Davis), Spotify outage reports began climbing around 12 p.m. CT before peaking roughly half an hour later at 12:35 p.m. CT.

No timetable has been given for when the app will be fully back up. We'll update this story as more information becomes available.

The timing for Spotify isn't ideal, as the company launched a new "Party of the Year(s)" feature on Tuesday morning. The wrap-up feature is part of the Spotify 20-year anniversary celebrations, and it presents users with their first-ever Spotify listen and other nostalgic highlights from their listening history.

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The luxury EV market in the U.S. has hit a bit of a reality check after its early hype phase. With tax credits disappearing and the initial rush fading, buyers are now a lot more focused on practicality than buzz.

What are your feelings about sad movies? I've realized you can't always be happy at the cinema. Sometimes, you need to let out a good cry. It's healthy, or at least that's what I told myself after shedding some tears during Hamnet. I'm OK with movies that make me cry, but I struggle with depressing stories. Those are the movies that I don't want to revisit.

The days of lining up at Supercharger stations might soon be over. Tesla is testing a Supercharger "waitlist" in its mobile app that amounts to a virtual queue for EV drivers.

Some weeks, no amount of coffee can jolt you from the fog of the Monday to Friday grind. But what I do know that helps is a solid watchlist waiting for the moment your laptop slams shut at the end of the day.

Hundreds of users have taken to X to report issues they are having with the music streaming platform Spotify. On the same day that Spotify released a new feature to celebrate its 20th anniversary, music lovers worldwide are facing error screens left, right, and center.

Amazon has long been known for fast delivery speeds, but for certain products in certain cities, that speed just got a lot faster.

On Tuesday, Amazon announced a wide rollout for Amazon Now, a new service that aims to get products to consumers in 30 minutes or less. Right now, Amazon Now is widely available in four metro areas: Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Dallas-Fort Worth. By the end of the year, Amazon plans to expand service to "dozens" more markets, including Minneapolis, Orlando, and Phoenix.

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"Amazon Now is for when you need or want the convenience of getting your Amazon order delivered in 30 minutes or less,” Amazon executive Udit Madan said in the press release. “With thousands of items available for ultra-fast delivery, you can get everything from groceries for dinner, to AirPods before a flight, to household essentials like laundry detergent or toothpaste delivered right to your door.”

SEE ALSO: Low price alert: The DJI Osmo 360 Essential Combo is on sale at Amazon for over $200 off

As of right now, Amazon Now is mostly focused on things that people might need in a hurry. This includes produce, dairy, and eggs, baby supplies, and even alcohol "where permitted." The service is also available 24 hours a day in most markets. And while you don't need a Prime membership to use Amazon Now, it's heavily geared toward Prime members. Prime users pay only a $3.99 delivery fee, while non-Prime members pay $13.99.

Amazon tested an early version of Amazon Now in the Seattle and Philadelphia markets late last year. Apparently, the company was encouraged enough by both customer response and the effectiveness of its infrastructure to make this more widely available. It will be interesting to see how dedicated grocery delivery services like Instacart respond to this.

Meta made millions off of scam ads specifically targeting seniors, according to a new report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).

The tech watchdog found that Meta was failing to curb malicious Medicare-related advertisements, which earned the platform $14.3 million in ad revenue in 2025. Such advertisements included false promises of "free benefits" for Medicare recipients, AI-generated celebrity deepfakes, and fake enrollment deadlines. They predominantly targeted Facebook users aged 65 or older, primarily in Texas and Florida.

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CCDH looked at 90,000 ads in Meta's ad library taken out by 30 known Medicare scammers, resulting in 215 million impressions across Facebook. According to the company, this figure is "six times the reach of all previous years on record combined." Scammer accounts had, on average, 151 ads removed by Meta. According to CCDH, "By the time those ads were removed, they had already generated 72 million impressions and earned Meta $3.7 million. Removed ads were replaced with near identical copies. Disabled accounts launched new ones."

SEE ALSO: The fierce battle over AI in schools

"Scammers are determined criminals who use increasingly sophisticated tactics to defraud people and evade detection on our platforms and across the internet," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement to NBC News.

"We aggressively fight scams on and off our platforms because they’re not good for us or the people and businesses that rely on our services. We removed over 159 million scam ads last year alone — 92 percent of which we took down before anyone reported them — launched new tools to protect people, and partnered with law enforcement around the globe to disrupt these criminals."

Over the last year, Americans have reported losing billions to fake scam ads across the larger internet. The FTC reported that 30 percent of Americans who fell victim to financial scams were targeted on social media, resulting in $2.1 billion in losses in 2025.

A recent report by Reuters found that Meta was earning around $7 billion in annualized revenue from scam ads, often referred to as "high risk" advertising. Internal documents showed the company expected to earn 10 percent of its 2024 ad revenue — or $16 billion — from "ads for scams and banned goods."

A class-action lawsuit based on the Reuters investigation was filed against Meta in April. The complaint alleges Meta intentionally charged "high risk" advertisers more money, and thus earned more profit, while failing to address user fraud reports and relying on ineffectual scam-fighting tools.

"These allegations misrepresent the reality of our work and we will fight them," Meta said in a statement to Mashable at the time.

For years, the default answer to “what used SUV should I buy?” has almost always pointed buyers toward Japan. Reliability has become so deeply tied to Toyota and Honda that a lot of shoppers overlook just how much Korean automakers have improved over the last decade. Quietly, some of the most dependable, budget-friendly crossovers on the road have started coming out of Seoul instead.

Google I/O 2026 takes place on May 19, but today, Google hosted a livestreamed warm-up event called The Android Show: I/O Edition. As you might have guessed, it's mostly focused on Android news.

In the past, Google I/O was focused on new Android developments. Now, Google gets that stuff out of the way a week in advance, clearing the decks for Gemini and artificial intelligence to take center stage at I/O.

Much of what was shared at The Android Show was fairly small and incremental, but between a new Google laptop brand and some useful-sounding Gemini features, there's some meat to chew on here. So, let's dig into everything we learned at The Android Show.

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The Android Show: I/O Edition's biggest announcements

Here's what stood out the most from The Android Show.

Meet the Googlebook Here it is. Credit: Google

Certainly, the biggest announcement of the show was Googlebook, a new class of laptops from Google and its hardware partners, including Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Acer. We got only the briefest glimpse of the hardware itself, and Google opted not to share release windows or price points at The Android Show. At its core, Googlebook seems like Chromebook for the Gemini generation.

Google's big innovation with Googlebook is Magic Pointer, a new AI-powered mouse cursor. If you hover over something with Magic Pointer on a Googlebook, it'll suggest contextual AI actions for whatever you're pointing at. One example Google gave was the ability to hover over a date in an email and set up a meeting. You know, stuff you normally do with AI, but now built into your mouse cursor.

'Googlebook' rolls right off the tongue. Credit: Google Credit: Google SEE ALSO: Google announces the Googlebook, a new breed of built-for-Gemini laptops

Another neat feature is the ability to use apps installed on your Android phone right from the Googlebook itself. According to Google, this won't require any extra downloads or bad touchscreen controls, like Android apps on Chromebooks sometimes have in the past. That's nice.

Design-wise, the Googlebook will have a thin "Glowbar" on the back cover, which will light up with Google's logo colors.

Android Auto gets some improvements Looks good! Credit: Google

If you have a modern car that's Android Auto-compatible, Google has built some swanky improvements into the experience for you. For starters, the Material 3 Expressive design language from your Pixel phone can now carry over to Android Auto, bringing your personalized color scheme and font choices with it, if you so choose. Users can also set custom widgets on the display to check the weather or open the garage door.

Beyond that, Google has updated Google Maps within Android Auto to give it a more three-dimensional view of the area around you. It can even tell which lane you're in, which could be handy. Google has also added full HD, 60 frames per second video support via YouTube to supported vehicles. Like other cars with video functionality, this only works while parked. Videos will automatically transition to audio-only once the car is set to drive.

Lastly, Google has brought some helpful contextual Gemini features to Android Auto. You can use voice commands to order food through DoorDash, use the Magic Cue feature from recent Pixel phones to draw in relevant information when someone asks you a question via text message, and more.

Gemini Intelligence comes to Android

Over the course of the rest of 2026, Google will roll out some new "Gemini Intelligence" features, which are meant for "the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel" devices coming this summer. Other devices, like cars, watches, laptops, and smart glasses will also get these features as the year rolls on.

Gemini Intelligence features largely seem to streamline things you could already sort of do with AI, giving the AI even more power to automate multi-step tasks and understand context. For instance, you can use Gemini Intelligence to automatically find a good spot in an upcoming spin class or find a tour on Expedia based simply on a photo of a travel brochure you showed the AI agent.

Other nuggets include Rambler, a new speech-to-text tool that removes filler words like "um" and "like" from your prompt. Google says it can even handle switching languages mid-sentence. This should allow users to speak more conversationally when talking to Gemini. Another new feature is the ability to have Gemini automatically fill out long forms for the user on mobile.

Last but not least for Gemini Intelligence is the ability to build custom widgets using Create My Widget. Google claims you can use natural language voice prompts to have Gemini build a custom on-screen widget with the information you want. This will be fascinating to test out as new Pixel devices roll out this summer.

Pause Point gives you time to reflect Take a pause. Credit: Google

One small but potentially meaningful new Android feature is Pause Point. How this works is that you mark apps that you find yourself using too much as distracting, and when you try to open them, Pause Point will stop you for 10 seconds. During that time, you can reconsider opening the app, and Pause Point will even suggest other, more productive apps you could open instead. This should automatically be turned on for all social media apps.

New tools for creators

Later this year, Pixel devices will get a new creator-focused feature called Screen Reactions. It records your face and what's on your screen, so you can react to whatever you're looking at without having to do any video editing at all. Instagram is also adding features exclusive to new Android devices. You can capture and play back content in Ultra HDR, and videos have built-in stabilization tools now, too.

The Instagram Edits app for Android is also getting a boost. You can use AI to automatically upscale content and use sound separation tools to weed out any unwanted background noises from your videos. Last but not least for creators, Adobe Premiere is coming to Android later this year, complete with exclusive templates for YouTube Shorts.

Chrome for Android gets a boost

Finally, Google is adding some more Gemini support to the Chrome app for Android mobile devices. This includes Nano Banana support built right into the browser for image generation, so if you're studying for an exam and you want to turn a page you're reading into a more visually appealing infographic, you can do that, at least in theory.

Google says you can also use SpotHero to automatically find a parking spot based on a ticket for a show you've bought, and use the Gemini icon in the upper right corner of a webpage to summarize the page.

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UPDATE: May. 12, 2026, 2:26 p.m. EDT This article has been updated with additional news from The Android Show event.

The Toyota Corolla Cross has quietly become one of the brand’s bigger success stories, with sales jumping from 56,666 units in 2022 to nearly 100,000 in 2024. Oddly enough, most buyers are still skipping the hybrid model, even though it improves on the standard SUV in almost every meaningful way.

Although I love new GPU releases just as much as the next PC enthusiast, I'm also not a proponent of the "upgrade every generation" mindset. It's not necessary. You might as well set your hard-earned dollars on fire, to be honest.

Lotus is moving away from EV-centric plans, but it's still betting that electrification will help it stand out in the performance car space. The company has unveiled a new Focus 2030 roadmap that includes a teaser for a hybrid V8 supercar, the Type 135.

eBay's board of directors has formally rejected GameStop's unsolicited bid to acquire the e-commerce company, bringing an unceremonious end to one of the stranger corporate stories of the year.

In a press release issued Tuesday morning, eBay's board called the proposal from GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen "neither credible nor attractive," citing concerns about GameStop's financing plan, the operational risks of a combined company, and questions about GameStop's own governance and executive incentives.

The rejection letter, signed by eBay board chairman Paul Pressler, was unambiguous. The board said it had considered eBay's standalone prospects and concluded that the company was better positioned on its own, with a clear strategy and management team already in place.

SEE ALSO: General Motors settles lawsuit over selling customer driving data

For anyone who has been following this saga, eBay's skepticism was entirely predictable.

GameStop, the mall-based video game retailer that became a legendary meme stock after a Reddit-fueled short squeeze in 2021, announced on May 3 that it was making a surprise bid to acquire eBay at $125 per share — a 46 percent premium over eBay's closing price on Feb. 4 — valuing the deal at approximately $55.5 billion.

GameStop's answer to acquiring a company worth nearly five times as much involved a combination of its $9.4 billion in cash and liquid assets, up to $20 billion in third-party financing from TD Securities, and GameStop common stock for the remaining balance. The company had also quietly accumulated a 5 percent stake in eBay in the months prior to the announcement.

The financing math left analysts unconvinced, and CEO Ryan Cohen did little to help matters. In a now-viral CNBC interview, Cohen was repeatedly pressed on how GameStop would get to $55 billion and repeatedly said he didn't understand the question.

When Mashable reached out to GameStop for clarification, the company responded by sending a link to Cohen's pinned post on X, in which he wrote, "selling stuff on eBay to pay for eBay." He subsequently posted that his personal eBay account had hit its $50,000 monthly listing limit and had been permanently suspended, at which point he announced on X that he was on the phone with customer support. It was, in the words of our own reporting, leaning into the spin.

As for what GameStop planned to do with eBay if it actually got it, the pitch centered on using GameStop's roughly 1,600 remaining retail locations as physical hubs for authentication, intake, and order fulfillment. Which is plain terms, means trying to compete with Amazon. A tactic eBay had already tried to do a decade prior. Part of the company's recent resurgence has been its shift back to being an online marketplace for buying collectibles and antiques.

eBay, for its part, had no prior contact with GameStop before receiving the unsolicited proposal and had indicated it would review whether the bid constituted an actionable offer. As of this morning, the board has made its answer clear.

Chromebooks have been the go-to cheap, basic computers for over 15 years, but it’s no secret that Google has been preparing for something new. We finally have the details on what the next generation looks like: Meet the Googlebook.

Android Auto arrived over 10 years ago, but it hasn’t had many major changes in that time. Google’s new Material 3 Expressive design rolled out to phones last year, and now it’s coming to Android Auto. That might not be the most exciting update, though.

The folks at Google said they no longer think of Android as an “operating system.” Instead, they see it as an “intelligence system.” That tells you everything you need to know about Google’s vision for Android 17 and beyond. Get ready to let your phone do a lot more for you—if you trust it.

Welcome to the world, Googlebook. Google announced the new eponymous category of AI laptops at the Android Show: I/O Edition on Tuesday. Think of it as the lovechild of a Chromebook and a Copilot+ PC, Microsoft's term for AI-designed Windows laptops.

"Over 15 years ago, we introduced the Chromebook, a laptop built for a cloud-first world," Google Senior Director Alex Kuscher said in a blog post. "Now, as computing shifts from an operating system to an intelligence system, we see an opportunity to rethink laptops again."

When the first models are released in the fall, Googlebooks will run Android apps like Chromebooks, but they'll place a heavier emphasis on features powered by Gemini, Google's AI assistant. Kuscher said Googlebooks are "the first laptops designed from the ground up for Gemini Intelligence."

The Googlebook will let users create their own widgets with AI. Credit: Google SEE ALSO: Everything we learned at The Android Show: I/O Edition 2026

It also sounds like Googlebooks will have a different operating system, one that's not ChromeOS. Google hasn't specified which one, just that it'll be "a modern OS that’s designed for Intelligence," wrote Kuscher. He's almost certainly talking about Project Aluminum, Google's rumored ChromeOS x Android mashup.

Chromebooks have been gaining more integrated AI tools in recent years, so it makes sense that Google is finally going full-send on proper AI PCs. Whether consumers actually want them is another story.

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Googlebook features The Googlebook's 'Magic Pointer' in action. Credit: Google

Googlebooks will support a "Magic Pointer" cursor feature that uses Gemini to understand and act upon onscreen content. You can activate it just by wiggling your cursor. "Point at a date in an email to set up a meeting, or select two images — like your living room and a new couch — to instantly visualize them together," said Kuscher, describing two hypothetical use cases.

Googlebooks will also have a "Create your Widget" tool that lets the user make custom widgets with Gemini prompts.

Google said the new laptops will integrate seamlessly with Android phones. While they can run Android apps themselves, you can also cast apps onto them from mobile devices without needing to download anything. Additionally, a "Quick Access" feature lets you view and search files on your phone right from a Googlebook.

Stay tuned for Googlebook hardware deets A Touch ID-like key on an unreleased Googlebook laptop. Credit: Google

Google is just teasing Googlebooks for now, so we don't have any concrete spec details or launch dates. But we do know they'll have a characteristic "glowbar" lightstrip on their lids, and that the first models will be made by Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, per the announcement blog post. Kuscher goes on to note that "Every Googlebook will be built with premium craftsmanship and materials, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes."

Credit: Google Credit: Google

Google's press materials also describe Googlebooks as having a "Featherweight Design" with "Heavyweight Power," so I'm thinking they'll be mid- to upper-range ultraportables.

Googlebooks will almost certainly be more expensive than most Chromebooks, which themselves have evolved from budget devices to more premium machines in recent years. The highest-end Chromebooks now sit between $750 and $1,000.

UPDATE: May. 12, 2026, 1:07 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with additional photos.

Days after releasing an update for older phones, Samsung is releasing the first One UI 9 beta for Galaxy S26 owners. It will be available in the U.S., U.K., Germany, India, Poland, and South Korea this week if you've signed up through the Samsung Members app.

SAVE $50: As of May 12, the Shark TurboBlade bladeless tower fan is on sale for $199.99 at Amazon. That's a 20 percent drop from its usual $249.99, marking a new record-low sale price.

Shark TurboBlade Fan $199.99 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $50   Get Deal at Amazon

Think back to last summer: Did you have trouble sleeping, working from home, or simply existing because it was too damn hot? Don't wait for the next heat wave to find a solution. Just grab the beloved Shark TurboBlade tower fan while it's on sale for $199.99 at Amazon. That's its lowest sale price to date.

For what it's worth, we'd be recommending the TurboBlade even at full price — it didn't receive a Special Mention in Time's Best Inventions of 2025 award list for nothing. The TurboBlade fan doesn't just oscillate a few inches to the left and right like your average tower fan. Its claim to fame is the ability to swivel 180 degrees horizontally and vertically to customize the perfect airflow angle (perhaps you'd want it horizontal over your bed at night and vertical in a hot kitchen while you're cooking). Airflow from the vent at the end of each arm can also be adjusted independently of each other. Choose from 10 speeds and noise levels with the tiny magnetic remote that sticks on the fan itself.

SEE ALSO: Dyson just launched its first-ever portable fan for $99

Mashable contributor Lauren Allain got a ton of use out of the TurboBlade at home: "I hate a hot room when working out, but it’s not worth turning down the central heating for my 30-minute rowing session since that would cool the entire house. Instead, I carried the TurboBlade Cool + Heat with me, positioned it in front of the rower, and took off on my workout in cooling bliss.

Plus, the wind made my stationary rowing machine feel a lot more like I was actually out on the water and not stuck working out inside, thanks to December rain."

Note that the model on sale today is the TurboBlade fan without the heat setting that Lauren tested, though their physical designs are nearly identical. Skipping the heater part will save you $180 over the TurboBlade Cool + Heat, which is currently going for $379.99 at Amazon. You could also buy two Shark TurboBlades for the same price as Dyson's cheapest bladeless fan.