Technology

For years, Android users have been sneaking into the Developer Options to make their phones feel faster—this article is not about that. I found a different, less “hacky” setting that sped up my Pixel phone, and I didn’t expect it to matter as much as it did.

Cyberdecks have been wildly popular with DIY enthusiasts for a good reason: you can build a portable computer that does what your usual PC can't, often with more style and a lower price. Raspberry Pi is eager to hop on the trend, and has just shared a tutorial that teaches you how to build a cyberdeck from scratch.

Your car's 12V outlet is probably one of its most overlooked features. While many drivers only use it for an old-fashioned cigarette lighter or a phone charger, it can power a surprisingly wide range of useful accessories, from dash cameras and tire inflators to portable coolers, vacuum cleaners, and even heated blankets.

Perplexity originally made its name as an AI search engine, but it also has a product called Computer.

Don't hate me for saying this, but summer is on its last legs. But if you must stay inside for some binge-watching, you could do worse than HBO Max. While the service is basking in the green glow of its chart-topping, 93%-rated Lanterns, U.S. subscribers still have some new and new-ish things to watch.

Chevrolet introduced the High Country trim for the 2014 Silverado, giving the truck a touch of rugged luxury, complete with its signature chrome trim and saddle-brown leather. Since then, Chevrolet has added the High Country to four other models in the lineup, including the Tahoe, Suburban, Traverse, and Silverado HD. Now the High Country nameplate is getting what is arguably its most visible redesign yet, and Chevrolet is introducing it on an SUV before anything else.

Nintendo is releasing a pair of new Switch 2 bundles later this fall, the company announced Tuesday. Both bundles will include a three-month Nintendo Switch Online Individual membership and a download code for a game.

The timing of this announcement is notable: The Switch 2 is getting $50 more expensive on Sept. 1, jumping from $449.99 to $499.99. These new bundles will be two ways of saving a little money on the popular console following its price hike.

Credit: Nintendo

The first bundle features Mario Kart World and launches sometime in "late September," according to a company press release. It will retail for $549.99, which works out to a $37.98 savings versus buying the system, the game, and the Switch Online membership separately.

The second bundle comes with a copy of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, the latest entry in Nintendo's sports simulation series. It arrives on Oct. 22 — the same day as the game itself — and has a sticker price of $529.99, saving shoppers $27.98. Preorders for the bundle will open "soon," the company said.

Credit: Nintendo

Nintendo used to sell three Switch 2 game bundles (sans memberships) for $499.99, including one with Mario Kart World, but they were out of stock everywhere at the time of writing.

The gaming giant announced its $50 Switch 2 price hike this May "[in] light of changes in market conditions." As Mashable previously reported, that's almost certainly a reference to the global memory shortage stemming from the AI boom, aka "RAMageddon." In recent months, tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, and Sony have increased their own hardware prices due to the same circumstances.

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Not too long ago, seeing only 30% battery left on your status bar meant your phone was basically as good as dead. In fact, that's still a reality for many people with fairly new phones. However, ever since I upgraded to a phone with a silicon-carbon battery, I've been leaving the house with a third of my battery left without a hint of anxiety. Let me explain why.

Imagine opening Instagram and reaching the bottom of your feed. Or having to press play on every Reel yourself. Stories no longer disappear after 24 hours, beauty filters are restricted, and the algorithm has less control over what you see next.

That version of Instagram may sound almost unrecognizable, but it could become a reality if Meta loses a landmark lawsuit brought by California and 28 other states.

The states accuse Meta of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to keep children and teenagers online while concealing what it knew about the potential harms. Infinite scrolling, autoplaying videos, disappearing Stories, beauty filters, push notifications, visible "likes," and algorithm-driven feeds are all under scrutiny.

SEE ALSO: Which countries have banned social media for kids?

That means this case isn’t only about whether Meta owes an enormous amount of money, but it could determine whether Instagram and Facebook are allowed to keep working the way we know them.

"Hook, hold, harvest, hide."

The trial began Aug. 18 in Oakland, California, and is expected to last six to eight weeks. California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are leading this phase of the case, with support from 25 other coalition members, including Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Oregon, and Wisconsin. During opening statements, California Deputy Attorney General Megan O’Neill summed up Meta’s alleged strategy with four words: "hook, hold, harvest, hide."

According to the states, Meta "hooks" young users with psychologically compelling features, "holds" their attention for as long as possible, "harvests" their data, and then "hides" evidence of the resulting harm from the public.

The lawsuit goes beyond the familiar argument that teenagers simply spend too much time on their phones. In their federal complaint, the states allege Meta deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to exploit young people’s lower impulse control and heightened sensitivity to rewards. They also accuse the company of collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and misleading parents and users about the safety of its platforms.

If the states prevail, Meta may have to do more than write a massive check. The attorneys general are seeking injunctive and monetary relief intended to address Meta’s alleged conduct and break that cycle of compulsive use. That could mean removing or substantially redesigning infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithm-heavy feeds, beauty filters, Stories, and other features accused of keeping young people glued to their screens.

And those changes may not stop at children’s accounts. Maintaining different versions of Instagram and Facebook for different ages and countries would be complicated and expensive, so Meta could end up changing the apps for everyone. Other platforms may follow its lead, too — especially if they think similar lawsuits are headed their way.

"This trial is potentially the end of social media as we know it," Forrester principal analyst Kate Winick told CNBC.

"An outlandish payout"

Of course, Meta is also facing a staggering financial threat. The company has warned that potential damages could reach approximately $1.4 trillion, although state attorneys have reportedly described roughly $200 billion as a more realistic figure. The larger sum is close to Meta’s total market value, while even the lower estimate would rival the company’s annual revenue.

Meta has denied the allegations. "Rather than sticking to the facts or the law, the states have instead decided to chase an outlandish payout," company spokesperson Liza Crenshaw told The Guardian.

During opening statements, Meta attorney Paul Schmidt argued that the company has acknowledged people can struggle with social media use and has developed tools intended to help. He also said Meta does not allow children under 13 to create accounts and has disabled more than 1 million accounts belonging to underage users.

The states, however, are attempting to show that Meta knew its existing safeguards were not enough and failed to act when employees raised concerns. One of their most prominent witnesses is Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety engineer who worked at the company during two separate periods between 2009 and 2021 and said he briefed Zuckerberg more than 100 times.

Béjar testified Aug. 18 and 19 that the issue became personal after his teenage daughter received unwanted sexual advances, explicit images, and misogynistic insults on Instagram. When she tried to report the abuse, he said, the platform’s existing tools were either ineffective or unavailable. Béjar described Meta’s approach to child safety as a "don’t ask, don’t tell strategy."

During his testimony, attorneys showed the jury a 2021 email Béjar sent to Zuckerberg about Meta’s own internal research. The survey, which questioned nearly 240,000 Instagram users, found that more than half of teenage respondents had encountered at least one harmful experience during the previous seven days. Béjar also testified that content connected to those experiences was removed only 0.02 percent of the time. He said he sent the findings directly to Zuckerberg because he had seen the company move quickly when its CEO made something a priority, but Zuckerberg never responded.

Meta has disputed Béjar’s account and unsuccessfully tried to prevent him from testifying. The company later told The Guardian that he had overstated his role at Meta and taken credit for work he did not perform.

The trial is far from over. Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are both expected to take the stand before it wraps up. The jury will weigh the evidence, but its verdict is only advisory; U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will ultimately decide whether Meta is liable and what it may have to pay.

And Meta isn’t the only platform with reason to pay attention. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said YouTube and Snap could face similar cases, meaning any changes forced on Facebook and Instagram may eventually spread across the rest of social media.

And for the first time in years, "You’re all caught up" might actually mean it.

If you’ve ever opened the Instagram Reels editor, selected a pile of videos, and immediately decided that posting might not be worth the trouble, Instagram would like to prevent that particular creative crisis.

On Aug. 25, the platform globally launched First Draft, a new one-tap editing tool that turns several videos into a short, fully edited Reel in under 10 seconds.

The process starts the same way as making any other Reel: You select the videos you want to use from your camera roll. But instead of pressing “Next” and manually cutting them down, you can tap the new "First draft" button.

Credit: Instagram

From there, Instagram's model works through three steps: analyzing the clips, identifying their highlights, and trimming them to reduce the overall length. It then delivers a complete cut that users can preview, continue adjusting, add music to, or move directly to Instagram's usual posting screen.

Credit: Instagram

The cuts can be pretty substantial. In an example shared with Mashable, First Draft condensed four minutes and 54 seconds of footage into a 17-second Reel featuring highlights from several rollerblading videos.

The idea isn’t to let Instagram make every creative decision for you. Instead, First Draft handles some of the repetitive work of finding usable moments and cutting them together, while still giving creators the option to change its selections before posting. Basically, it eliminates some of the "staring at your camera roll and questioning your life" portion of the process.

Credit: Instagram

First Draft is also built directly into Instagram’s existing Reels creation flow, so creators won’t have to move their footage into another app to use it. That separates the tool from Edits, Instagram’s standalone video editor, which offers more advanced features, including a frame-accurate timeline, storyboards, effects, and performance insights.

Instagram said it created First Draft because manual clip trimming can be "tedious and frustrating" for creators. "Instead of staring down a collection of clips and figuring out where to start, creators can use First Draft to quickly get to a starting point and then make the edit their own from there," the company told Mashable. They added that the tool is beneficial for creators with accessibility needs.

Credit: Instagram

The launch is the latest example of Instagram trying to make short-form video production require slightly less production. The platform already offers customizable Reel templates, while Edits includes tools such as automatic enhancements, captions, and AI-powered video effects.

First Draft can analyze your footage, find the highlights, and transform nearly five minutes of video into something short enough for the Reels feed. You’ll still need to decide whether the internet actually needs to see it. Instagram has not yet invented a one-tap solution for that.

With the RAM-pocalypse wreaking havoc on the PC hardware market, I'll be honest, we're sort of running out of things we can actually buy. It's not that stuff isn't on the shelves; it is. It's just that most people can't actually afford any of it.

Are you getting ready to fly home for the holidays, but want to make sure your phone can stay charged on the trip? Carrying a portable power bank is an easy way to power up without a wall outlet—but how big can you go when flying?

If you've bought a new 4K monitor recently, you might have been puzzled by the array of ports on the back. HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C, and Thunderbolt are all commonplace now, but which is the best, and why?

Do you get carsick while looking at your smartphone while in a moving vehicle? Google wants to help with that.

Motion Assist is a new feature rolling out to Android 17 devices that aims to reduce motion sickness for users. Google's Pixel phones appear to be the first devices receiving it, with other Android devices to follow. 

As Android Authority reports, the feature was first noticed in a beta release way back in December 2024. Nearly two years later, Google is finally rolling it out.

Motion Assist works much like Apple's own Vehicle Motion Cues released for the iPhone in 2024. Animated dots or other shapes appear along the edges of the display and move in response to the motion of the vehicle.

"This may help reduce motion sickness when you're in a moving vehicle," reads the prompt on the Motion Assist settings screen.

To access Motion Assist, head to Google Play Settings on your Android device. Tap your profile, select Settings, then tap All services. Motion Assist can be found under Personal & device safety.

Motion Assist lets users customize the color, shape, and opacity of the motion indicators that appear along the edges of the screen. A randomization option automatically varies those settings.

Users can set Motion Assist to turn on automatically when the device detects that they are traveling in a car, bus, train, or other moving vehicle. They can also add a Motion Assist tile to Quick Settings to manually turn the feature on or off.

Google sends a notification when Motion Assist is activated, and tapping the notification allows users to turn the feature off.

Motion Assist is rolling out gradually to Pixel phones running Android 17, so availability may vary even among eligible devices. If you don't see it yet, it may not have reached your phone.

TL;DR: Watch Valencia vs. Real Betis in La Liga for free on CazéTV. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

If you're looking for La Liga action, Valencia are hosting Real Betis at the Mestalla.

Both teams got off to a mediocre start last weekend, drawing 0-0 in their respective opening games. The Spanish league also saw further draws yesterday, with Osasuna vs. Levante and Málaga vs. Deportivo failing to deliver a decisive winner. Soccer fans are now hoping for something more exciting from Valencia vs. Real Betis — goals would be nice.

If you're interested in watching Valencia vs. Real Betis in La Liga from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is Valencia vs. Real Betis?

Valencia vs. Real Betis in La Liga kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Aug. 25. This fixture takes place at the Mestalla.

How to watch Valencia vs. Real Betis for free

Valencia vs. Real Betis in La Liga is available to live stream for free on CazéTV.

CazéTV is geo-restricted to Brazil, but anyone can secure access with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Brazil, meaning you can live stream Valencia vs. Real Betis for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Valencia vs. Real Betis for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice

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

4. Visit CazéTV

5. Watch Valencia vs. Real Betis for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Valencia vs. Real Betis without committing your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream this fixture (plus Premier League action) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for La Liga?

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

• Servers in 105 countries, including Brazil

• 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 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and usually offers a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Valencia vs. Real Betis for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

That was fast: A day after rumors broke about Apple preparing new Mac devices for release, the company announced some updated desktop computers. Today, Apple unveiled a portable Mac mini with the new M6 chip and a hulking Mac Studio with new M5 Ultra silicon — its "most powerful chip ever," according to a press release.

These new processors offer "the next giant leap in performance and AI compute," said Sri Santhanam, Apple’s vice president of Silicon Engineering Group. They also bring some slightly higher prices. (Blame RAMageddon.) The M6 Mac mini starts at $899, or $100 more than its M4 predecessor. The M5 Ultra Mac Studio starts at $5,499. That's $200 more than the M3 Ultra model, and more expensive configurations cost up to $18,299.

Both new Macs are available in a second configuration with other existing chips from the M5 series. Their external designs remain unchanged.

SEE ALSO: A maxed-out Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra will set you back $18,299

Preorders for the refreshed Mac mini and Mac Studio are now live in the Apple Store, though they won't start shipping until Sept. 22.

These announcements come ahead of Apple's annual September hardware event, where the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 series, a new foldable iPhone, updated smart home devices, and new Apple Watches.

M6 debuts on the Mac mini Credit: Apple

The new Mac mini, Apple's inaugural M6 device, features the company's first-ever processor built using a 2-nanometer manufacturing process, which crams more switches onto a smaller piece of silicon. (Apple's M3, M4, and M5 chips used 3nm technology.) This translates to "a major leap in performance and power efficiency," Apple said.

The M6 chip has two more CPU and GPU cores than the M5 chip for a total of 12 apiece, plus a Dual 16-core Neural Engine. Per Apple, it gives the new Mac mini up to four times faster AI performance up to two times faster graphics than the M4 model. The company recommends it for "everyday users, students, developers, AI hobbyists, and enterprises." It starts at $899 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and now maxes out with 32GB of RAM. (The M4 model tapped out at 24GB.)

SEE ALSO: New Apple HomePods with AI are coming. Everything we know.

The Mac mini is also now configurable with the M5 Pro chip. That model has up to an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU with up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of storage. It starts at $1,699 with 24GB of memory and 512GB of storage. Apple plugs it for "pro users" with "demanding workflows like app development, video rendering, scientific simulations, and more."

Both new Mac mini models support 2.5Gb Ethernet, with a 10Gb upgrade available, as well as WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6, the latest wireless technologies.

This year, Mac mini desktops have become a popular choice for people running AI agents, and some M4 models have been hard to find in stock.

M5 Ultra beefs up the Mac Studio Credit: Apple

The M5 Ultra marks another Apple innovation: It's the company's first chip with quad-die architecture, made by fusing two dual-die M5 Max chips together. It has up to a 36-core CPU and 80-core GPU with up to a whopping 512GB of unified memory and 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth. (The M3 Ultra was capped at 32 CPU cores and 96GB of RAM, and it only had 819GB/s of memory bandwidth.)

Compared to its predecessor, the M5 Ultra Mac Studio delivers up to 4.5 times faster AI compute speeds and up to 40 percent faster graphics. Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, called it "the ultimate desktop for on-device AI and the world’s most demanding pro workflows."

The new Mac Studio starts at $5,499 with a 30-core CPU, 64-core GPU, and 36GB of memory plus 512GB of storage. It's also configurable with the M5 Max chip for $2,499 to start. Both support WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Mac mini (M6, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $899 at the Apple Store
  Pre-order Here Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra, 36GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $5,499 at the Apple Store
  Shop Now

Phones used to look and act very differently, and you could tell what the brand was just from turning it on. We had to watch that personality get replaced with flat icons and white space. The HTC Sense was one of the first Android skins that made a phone feel like it was unique, and we lost a great UI when the company started playing it safe. Luckily, you can rebuild something close to it on a modern Android phone.

I've been distro hopping for years. While in school, I extensively used Fedora, Arch, and Ubuntu, and in the intervening years, I've spent a lot of time with Pop!_OS, CachyOS, Debian, Kinoite, and Garuda. All of them are decent, but I only found one that I can use for daily work: Kubuntu.

The 2026 Honda Civic Hybrid gets 48 mpg combined, and you don't have to do anything special to get there. There's no plugging it in, planning around electric range, or driving like you're trying to squeeze every last drop of fuel from the tank.

It's a big day for the Apple world. We have new a new M6 Mac mini and M5 Ultra Mac Studio. This should come as great news to those of us who've designed our ideal desktop station. Faster and smarter chips are always warmly welcomed, and Apple delivered.

The new M5 Mac Studio includes two configurations: the M5 Max and M5 Ultra. The Mac Studio with M5 Max is ready for preorder with prices starting at $2,499 or $2,299 for education. The Mac Studio with M5 Ultra starts at $5,499 or $5,099 for education.

In addition to new chips, both models of the new Mac Studio come with enhancements like Thunderbolt 5 ports and support for up to eight displays. You can also utilize the new Apple Upgrade program for either model. Here are some key features to keep in mind before placing a preorder.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Mac Studio M5 Max (18-core CPU, 32-core GPU) $2,499 at Apple
  Pre-order Here Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Mac Studio M5 Ultra (30-core CPU, 64-core GPU) $5,499 at Apple
  Pre-order Here Mac Studio M5 Max

According to Apple's press release, the M5 Max chip can compute on-device AI "with up to 3.9x faster AI performance than the prior generation, speeding up prompt processing." In addition, Apple points out the M5 Max is a great option for those who need performance to match a complex demand but don't want something bulky. That's good news for musicians, videographers, engineers, or those who work with motion graphics.

Mac Studio M5 Ultra

Jumping up in faster AI performance, Apple has introduced the M5 Ultra version of the Mac Studio. The base processor on this model includes 30-core CPU and 64-core GPU for $5,499, or you can go with the boosted 80-core GPU for an additional $1,300.

Apple's most powerful chip yet, the M5 Ultra is meant to keep up with demanding workflows with top-tier performance. In Apple's eye, it's great for those who work with 3D renderings, 8K video editing, intensive gaming, or training AI models, to highlight a few applications. You get dual Thunderbolt 5 ports on the front and an SDXC card slot. On the back, you'll find four Thunderbolt 5 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, Ethernet port, and a headphone jack.

The back port options on the Mac Studio. In addition, it can support up to eight displays. Credit: Apple How to preorder the Mac Studio M5 Max and Mac Studio M5 Ultra

At the time of writing, both the Mac Studio M5 Max and Mac Studio M5 Ultra are available for preorder at Apple with a launch date set for Sept. 22. Apple also mentions there's a Mac Studio with 512GB of unified memory is coming in late October.