Technology

Well, that was fast. Just two days after Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said Waymo is considering selling robotaxis to individuals one day, the company signed a deal with Toyota that could make this a reality.

In a joint press release, Waymo and Toyota said they've reached a "preliminary agreement" to "explore a collaboration focused on accelerating the development and deployment of autonomous driving technologies."

The two companies plan to develop a new autonomous vehicle platform, and are looking to build the next-generation of personally owned vehicles. "The scope of the collaboration will continue to evolve through ongoing discussions," the press release says.

While all that sounds very tentative, it boils down to this: Waymo has the self-driving tech, and Toyota has the cars. Sometime down the line, the two companies might start selling Toyota-built cars with Waymo's autonomous driving technology to end users.

Waymo's current fleet of robotaxis, operating in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, consists of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles fitted with a lot additional cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and LIDAR sensors. Waymo does not build or sell cars to individual users; Toyota, on the other hand, is the world's largest automaker, known for its reliable cars sold under the Toyota and Lexus brands.

It's unclear (and probably too early to tell) whether the two companies will launch a car under an entirely new brand, or if it will it be a smarter Toyota. For now, it appears that Waymo will incorporate some Toyotas into its fleet and lend some of its self-driving tech to Toyota cars.

"We look forward to exploring this strategic partnership, incorporating their vehicles into our ride-hailing fleet and bringing the magic of Waymo's autonomous driving technology to Toyota customers," said Waymo co-CEO Takedra Mawakana, in a statement.

SEE ALSO: Tesla has launched a robotaxi service, but only for employees

The two companies better hurry up with their plans, because Tesla is planning to start selling robotaxis to customers soon. The company is currently testing an autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin and the San Francisco Bay area, with plans to start producing the fully autonomous Cybercab vehicle in 2026.

TL;DR: Replace your monthly Dropbox subscription with a 10TB Internxt Cloud Storage Lifetime Plan on sale for $279.99 with code STORAGE20.

Opens in a new window Credit: Internxt Internxt Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription: 10TB Plan $279.99
$2,999 Save $2,719.01 with code STORAGE20 Get Deal

Cloud storage subscriptions are expensive, even if they don't seem like it at first. Dropbox's cheapest plan is $9.99 per month for 2TB of cloud storage. It seems cheap, but that's a little under $120 every year, and you're never actually done paying for it. 

If you want a cheaper alternative to Dropbox, Internxt just dropped the price for a 10TB cloud storage lifetime subscription. Now it's only $279.99 with code STORAGE20. 

Pay once for a lifetime of cloud storage

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You don't even have to manually upload. You can sync all your files and photos across platforms, even Linux. This focus on privacy even extends to its open-source design, so users can inspect the code for transparency and security.

This subscription lasts for life with no recurring payments of any kind. You can access your cloud storage on unlimited devices, too. 

Use code STORAGE20 to get an Internxt 10TB Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription on sale for $279.99. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.

Watching TV is an all-timer hobby. Who doesn't love a good binge in front of the box? There's nothing better than a night on the sofa with your latest Netflix obsession.

But there are distractions everywhere — even in your home — which can interrupt your TV enjoyment. On the flip side of that, you might have housemates who get disturbed by your late night bingeing. Or perhaps you're hearing impaired and need some help listening to dialogue? If any of those sound familiar, we recommend investing in a good pair of headphones for watching TV.

Wireless headphones will make it easier to fully immerse into a show or movie — and without bothering people around you. If you need help choosing the best pair for you, here's some useful information and a selection of the best headset options.

Do you need headphones for watching TV?

Reasons for having headphones for the TV can vary. As we've already outlined, viewers may be hard of hearing, or may live in busy households. But, not only that, in this day and age of everyone having different devices — often in the same room — it just makes sense to have good headphones. Even if you're not using them all the time. And, hey, there's always the option of getting a pair that double up for TV and everyday use.

What makes headphones good for watching TV?

Sound is important when you’re buying any pair of headphones, but if you’re buying specifically for watching TV, you'll need to consider the sort of things you’ll be watching. Will you need heavy bass for the rumbling carnage of action movies? Or nuanced detail for quieter, emotionally-charged moments? Or maybe all-round, un-fussy performance for casually watching sport and comedy? Also consider headphones with noise cancelling technology. And wireless headphones are probably best — if you’re relaxing in front of the TV, you don’t want to actually be wired into it. In fact, check out the wireless range too, in case you like to move around your home while you're still connected to the TV audio.

What’s best, Bluetooth or radio frequency technology?

Most wireless headphones are Bluetooth-enabled. Bluetooth is now the standard technology for syncing your headphones to a smart device. While Bluetooth is a good option for podcasts or music on your smartphone or laptop, it's not necessarily the best tech for wirelessly watching TV. Bluetooth sometimes creates a lag between the action on-screen and the sound in your headphones, which puts the picture and audio slightly out of sync. Believe it or not, headphones that use old school radio frequency technology (RF) are sometimes better for watching TV because lag or latency is almost non-existent, ensuring that the picture and audio are virtually seamless. This doesn’t mean there are no good Bluetooth options out there — there are great Bluetooth headphones that use codecs but minimise latency — but it's something to consider.

What are Bluetooth codecs?

If you do want to buy a Bluetooth-enabled set of headphones, check out which codecs they support. These encode and decode digital audio signals. Codecs decode at a specific bitrate, which determines whether the headphones have a high or low latency (AKA lag), which is measured in milliseconds. High latency means your picture and sound may be out of sync. Look out for headphones with low latency that support Qaulcomm’s aptX codecs, such as aptX Adaptive, which are generally rated as the best codecs for streaming video content or hooking up to a TV.

Do you need noise cancelling headphones to watch TV?

Ultimately, it’s down to personal preference (or how noisy your home is!) but if you want to totally immerse yourself in a movie or show, noise cancelling headphones will shut you off from the outside world and put you right at the middle of the action. There are two kinds of noise cancellation — passive and active. Passive noise cancellation is achieved by the build of the headphones, which physically blocks out noise. Active noise cancellation (ANC) uses a system of small microphones that pick up incoming sounds and create anti-noise sound waves to cancel them out.

What are the best headphones for watching TV?

If that seems like a lot of information to take in, don’t worry. We've scoured the product listings and online reviews, and we've come up with a list of headphones for watching TV, including devices from top brands such as Sony and Sennheiser. There's something for everyone and every budget. Take your time to consider everything on the list and weigh up these choices against your TV watching habits.

These are the best wireless headphones for watching TV in 2025.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

What you do to coffee beans.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

GRIND

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A nook.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 30, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

NICHE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

The opposite of south.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 30 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 30, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

NORTH

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A state of matter.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for April 29 Hurdle Word 4 answer

SOLID

Final Hurdle hint

An animal that moves slowly.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

SLOTH

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Tonight at LlamaCon, Meta's first inaugural AI developer conference, an interview between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed just how much of their products' code is written by AI.

During the closing keynote for LlamaCon, Zuckerberg asked Nadella how much code within Microsoft is now written by AI. Nadella's response? "Maybe 20 to 30 percent of the code that is inside of our repos today, and some of our projects, are probably all written by [AI] software."

But when Nadella flipped the question back to Zuckerberg, his estimate for Meta's near future was even higher. Zuckerberg said he didn't have the current numbers off the top of his head, but that "our bet is sort of that in the next year... maybe half the development is going to be done by AI as opposed to people, and that will kind of increase from there." Based on the exchange, it's not entirely clear if Zuckerberg was referring to Llama specifically or Meta overall.

Regardless, that sounds like a big number for a technology that still feels very nascent to the public at large. However, in the tech world, the impressive coding abilities of AI models are being aggressively utilized to generate new code for those same AI models.

For context, Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently revealed that AI generates about a quarter of the company's code (per Engadget). Typically, AI is used to increase human programmers' productivity, sometimes dramatically so, rather than replacing humans entirely.

Later, as the conversation turned towards agentic systems automating more of their respective businesses, Zuckerberg predicted "every engineer is effectively gonna end up being more of like a tech lead" where they each have "their own little army of agents that they work with."

The keynote spanned from the technical, like the current state of agentic AI, to the philosophical, when Nadella called for new ways of measuring AI progress. For instance, he wondered what it would take for AI technology to grow the GDP of the developing world by 10 percent?

SEE ALSO: Meta has finally launched its ChatGPT competitor

As two of the most powerful tech leaders in the world, Zuckerberg and Nadella have strong beliefs in AI's potential and big, global plans to see them through.

Nadella was an interesting choice as the interviewee of the LlamaCon keynote. As the leader of Microsoft, Nadella is heavily intertwined with OpenAI, one of Meta's chief rivals.

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.

It's no secret that Mario Kart World is the main reason to get a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch. I even got to play it myself at the Nintendo launch event. But what else will you be able to play if/when you get bored of that game?

Luckily, Nintendo has an extensive list of Switch 2 launch titles available to play on June 5. As is usually the case with new consoles, many of them are ports of older games. However, in this instance, that's not such a bad thing; there are plenty of people out there who only had a Nintendo Switch, meaning they may have missed out big games like Cyberpunk 2077.

Assuming you've got your Switch 2 preorder on deck, here are five of the best Nintendo Switch 2 launch titles to keep in mind ahead of June 5 — besides Mario Kart World.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Mario Kart World $79.99 at Target
Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here The Nintendo Switch 2 launch titles I can't wait to play

Again, a few of these games already came out elsewhere, but they might still be new to Nintendo fans.

Fast Fusion Looks fast. Credit: Shin'en/Nintendo

One of the best latter-day Wii U games was a little futuristic racer called Fast Racing Neo. This, in turn, became one of the best Switch 1 launch titles, in an upgraded form called Fast RMX. Now, developer Shin'en is back with a long-awaited sequel that promises new ideas with the same technical excellence as its predecessors.

Shin'en hasn't said much about Fast Fusion yet, other than that it will be out at launch and will only cost $14.99, making it the anti-Mario Kart in one way. But it looks the part of a futuristic arcade-style racing game with a sharp sense of speed, gorgeous visuals, split-screen and online multiplayer, and a unique car fusion system that should set it apart from the competition. And again, it's just $15.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Fast Fusion (digital) $14.99 at Nintendo
Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here Yakuza 0 Director's Cut Expect a lot of this. Credit: Sega/Nintendo

The first port of an old game on this list can be traced all the way back to the PlayStation 3. Yakuza 0 has been around the block a few times, just never on a Nintendo platform before. Let me tell you, if you're a person who sticks close to Nintendo and hasn't played this one yet: Make it a priority.

The Switch 2 version adds some bonuses, like new English voice acting and a weird-looking multiplayer fighting mode, but Yakuza 0 could've been ported as-is, and that would've been fine. It's an oddball action-adventure game set in a highly period-accurate version of urban, red-light district Japan in the late 1980s. Aside from the very fun and very violent combat, it's also got interactive karaoke, mahjong, and all kinds of other cultural delights for you to take part in on the side.

Yakuza 0 also has a terrific story with two excellent protagonists. If you've ever been curious about the long-running Yakuza series, this is the best place to start.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Yakuza 0 Director's Cut $49.94 at Amazon
Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition All the Keanu your Switch 2 can handle. Credit: CD Projekt Red/Nintendo

The Switch 2 port of Cyberpunk 2077 might be a good litmus test for what the Switch 2 is capable of on a technical level, and that alone makes it compelling, at least to me.

This game famously had to be pulled from the PlayStation store after launch in 2020 because the PS4 version was so terrible, and the Switch 2 is about as powerful as a PS4. Developer CD Projekt Red has had years to sort Cyberpunk out, though, and the game is genuinely in an excellent state these days. Between that and the highly impressive Switch 1 port of The Witcher 3, it's easy to see a world where a lot of people experience Cyberpunk for the first time on Switch 2 and have a perfectly decent time doing so.

Opens in a new window Credit: CD Projekt Red Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition $69.99 at Amazon
Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here Deltarune 'Deltarune' sorta defies explanation. Credit: 8-4/Nintendo

In 2015, indie developer Toby Fox broke the internet with a humble little pixel-based RPG called Undertale. Since then, Fox has been following up on Undertale with Deltarune, an expanded successor with different combat and an episodic release format, but the same off-beat sense of humor and catchy musical direction.

The first two chapters of Deltarune have been out for a while, but chapters 3 and 4 (in a package that includes all of them) are shipping at launch with Switch 2. If you've already been committed to the Deltarune train, why not continue on Switch 2? If not, maybe this is a good place to start, too. These are games that need to be experienced to be understood.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Deltarune $24.99 at Nintendo
Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess One of 2024's most underrated games comes to Switch 2. Credit: Capcom/Nintendo

Our last game is another port, though the original only came out in 2024 and sorta fell under the radar on other consoles.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a bit of a weird one. It's kind of a third-person hack-and-slash action game, but also kind of a strategic tower defense game. In totality, it's very unique, cool to look at, and fun to play. Capcom has a bit of an under-discussed banger here, so maybe the Switch 2 launch can be a good way for people who missed Kunitsu-Gami the first time around to catch it now.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess $39.99 at Nintendo
Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here Honorable Mention: Donkey Kong Bonanza

If none of these games are enough to whet your appetite, Donkey Kong Bananza is a non-launch Switch 2 title to look out for. DK's first starring role in a 3D platformer in 25 years comes alongside a brand new character design for one of Nintendo's oldest heroes, as well as a funky terrain destruction system that lets players destroy the entire level to get where they're trying to go. You'll have to wait a bit for it, but not long, as Bananza is out July 17.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Donkey Kong Bananza $69.99 at Target
Release Date: July 17, 2025 Pre-order Here Where to preorder Nintendo Switch 2 games

Most retailers are offering Nintendo Switch 2 games for preorder, so your first stop for picking up a new title is one of these retailers. Below, find links to each online storefront where you can shop a repository of Switch 2 games available right now.

• Amazon

• Target

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

More Switch 2 games available for preorder

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star Crossed World

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch 2 Edition)

• Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fighters Edition

• Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

• Sonic X Shadow Generations

• Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD

• Super Mario Party Jamboree

• Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma

• Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion

• Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S

• Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar

• Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army

• No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Aiba Edition

• Yakuza 0: Director's Cut

ChatGPT — and generative AI tools like it — have long had a reputation for being a bit too agreeable. It's been clear for a while now that the default ChatGPT experience is designed to nod along with most of what you say. But even that tendency can go too far, apparently.

In a thread on X posted on April 27, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that "GPT-4o updates have made the personality too sycophant-y and annoying." And today, Altman announced on X that the company was fully rolling back the 4o update for paid and free users alike.

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Normally, ChatGPT’s role as your own personal digital hypeman doesn't raise too many eyebrows. But users have started complaining online about the 4o model's overly agreeable personality. In one exchange, a user ran through the classic trolley problem, choosing between saving a toaster or some cows and cats. The AI reassured them they’d made the right call by siding with the toaster.

"In pure utilitarian terms, life usually outweighs objects," ChatGPT responded. "But if the toaster meant more to you… then your action was internally consistent."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

There are plenty more examples showing just how extreme ChatGPT’s sycophancy had gotten — and it was enough for Altman to admit that it "glazes too much" and needed to be fixed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

On a more serious note, users also pointed out that there could be a real danger in AI chatbots that agree with everything you say. Sure, posts about people telling ChatGPT they're a religious prophet or simply fishing for an ego boost can be amusing. But it’s not hard to imagine how a "sycophant-y" chatbot could validate genuine delusions and worsen mental health crises.

In his thread on X, Altman said that the company was working on fixes for the 4o model's personality problems. He promised to share more updates "in the coming days."

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.

X's user base in the European Union is now officially lower than it was prior to Elon Musk's acquisition of the company.

And that's according to a new report from Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter, but you knew that). The social media platform now has a total of 94.8 million monthly active users in the EU.

That's a loss of roughly 11 million European users from X's previous transparency report, as highlighted by Social Media Today.

Mashable previously reported on X's declining user base in the EU last fall. Now, we know that X's European user base has continued to drop. In 2022, before Musk acquired the social media platform, the company had more than 100 million users in Europe.

How do we know X's user base is dropping in the EU?

As part of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), tech companies like X are required to provide content moderation transparency reports throughout the year. As a result, X is forced to share internal information, such as its monthly active user base, that it might otherwise keep private.

This week, X published its April DSA transparency report, the first of 2025. The report covers October 2024 through March 2025.

The latest report shows that X's user base in the EU has declined by more than 10.5 percent since its October 2024 report, which covered the previous period between April trough September of that year.

X saw the biggest decline in France with a loss of more than 2.7 million monthly active users, dropping from 20.1 million users to 17.4 million users in between this transparency report and the last. X also lost nearly 2 million users in Poland, close to 1.5 million users in Germany, and more than 1 million users in Spain. As Social Media Today points out, the small countries of Luxembourg and Lithuania each saw a quarter of their X users leave the platform.

X has been shedding users for a while

Last month, Elon Musk's AI company xAI acquired the social media platform at close to the same sum that Musk originally paid for the company in 2022. Since then, Musk and company have attempted to paint a rosy picture of X's performance, which has seen a decline in revenue and repeated controversies since Musk's takeover. 

X did see a jump in traffic and returning advertisers (including big names like Apple) following the election of Donald Trump last November. However, X's traffic spike following the 2024 election proved to be temporary, and analysts projected that Musk's social media platform would continue to lose users this year.

While X is not required to report active user data outside of the EU, a report in the Financial Times last September looked at third-party analytics and determined that X lost nearly one-fifth of its daily active user base in the U.S. and one-third of its daily active user base in the United Kingdom.

And it makes sense, when you consider the global protests against Tesla, which have resulted in Musk's EV company's profits dropping a whopping 71 percent.

In the thick of Meta’s first-ever AI developer conference, LlamaCon, CEO Mark Zuckerberg hit the launch button on Meta AI — the company’s full-throttle answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

According to Meta’s April 29 press release, the new standalone AI app is built on the company’s latest Llama 4 model. It’s pitched as a hyper-personalized assistant for users already living inside the Meta ecosystem: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook — you know the drill. In a choice Instagram video, Zuckerberg, framed in a pair of Meta Ray-Ban glasses, pitched the app as a product built for voice-first conversations.

SEE ALSO: I tried the new Meta AI app: 3 unexpected features View this post on Instagram

One standout feature is the Discover feed. It lets you see how your connections use Meta AI, surfacing prompts they’ve tried (with their permission). Meta says you’re in full control over what, if anything, gets shared. Since personalization is at the heart of the experience, it’s worth noting: opting out of having your data scraped to train Meta’s AI is nearly impossible.

The discover feed will also amplify any generative AI trends that pop off. Credit: Meta

The app is also meant to pair with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. You can kick off a conversation via voice through the glasses, then jump into the app or web interface later to pick up the thread. Other than that, though, the app functions the same as it does on Messenger and IG, just now wrapped in a separate, slick interface accessible from both your phone and desktop.

With LlamaCon underway in California, this standalone launch isn’t just a product drop — it’s a litmus test. Meta needs to show investors and developers that its AI ambitions are alive and accelerating. Back in January, Zuckerberg committed a staggering $60 billion to U.S.-based data centers to power Meta AI.

The launch could also be the nudge OpenAI needs to hit the gas on its own social-facing ChatGPT app. CEO Sam Altman joked about the idea months ago, when Meta first teased its standalone AI app. Now, signs point to OpenAI quietly building something that might make that joke a reality.

In the mood for a magic trick? Then check out the trailer for Lionsgate's Now You See Me: Now You Don't, the third film in the Now You See Me franchise. And guess what? A fourth is already on the way.

SEE ALSO: Summer Movie Preview: What's coming to theaters and streaming?

Now You See Me: Now You Don't reunites the team of thieving magicians known as the Four Horsemen: J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson). But they're not alone.

On the advice of a magical tarot card, Atlas has recruited three young magicians to aid him in his next heist, played by Barbie's Ariana Greenblatt, The Holdovers' Dominic Sessa, and I Saw the TV Glow's Justice Smith. Their mission? To take down a criminal family syndicate, led by Rosamund Pike in a villainous role.

Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer helms Now You See Me: Now You Don't, which also sees Morgan Freeman returning as master magician Thaddeus Bradley.

"Eight magicians against a worldwide criminal network. I like our chances," Greenblatt's character says.

Notably missing from the trailer is Mark Ruffalo as Dylan Rhodes, but maybe we just don't see him yet, you know?

Check out the trailer above for more dazzling escapes and sleight of hand, including body swaps, dress changes, and classic card tricks.

Now You See Me: Now You Don't hits theaters Nov. 14.

Maybe you’ve noticed: Siri doesn’t quite sound like Siri anymore.

It’s not the most dramatic shift. Rather, it's a different lilt to its tone or a slight tonal drift. However, it's just enough to make you pause and ask, "Hey, Siri, did your voice change?"

Occasionally, Google search trends light up with people wondering whether Siri's voice is different — or, rather, whether the voice assistant's many voices are different. Maybe we’re all just spiraling into collective audio gaslighting.

Reddit Reddit Reddit Reddit

Across the internet, users are reporting that Siri’s voice has turned flat, unnatural, stern, and oddly disengaged. Gone is the upbeat, more conversational tone we’re used to. The shift seems to hit hardest with the Australian, Irish, and American voices. So, what’s going on?

There’s no need to panic. The wave of online chatter that kicked off in December points back to one culprit: the iOS 18 update and its new Apple Intelligence features. That subtle tonal shift you’re picking up on? It’s likely tied to how Siri now operates with the latest software updates.

With the iPhone 16 and iOS 18 rollout, Apple quietly tweaked Siri’s voice and natural language processing, particularly in how it meshes with the newly introduced Apple Intelligence. At the time, Apple called it "The start of a new era for Siri." And in the iOS 18 release notes, Apple said, "Siri sounds more natural, expressive, and clear, and is now synthesized entirely on device by Apple Intelligence new language models."

Of course, how Siri's new voice sounds to your ear is very subjective.

As one user put it in a December 2024 Apple Support Community forum thread, "Managed to get original Siri back by disabling Apple intelligence. Will happily go without AI," said user VRBe. Another user replied, "Yep, that worked. I disabled Apple Intelligence, and Siri’s voice is back to the way it was pre iOS 18. I’ll use Apple Intelligence, as soon as you put the voice back to the way it was."

Digging deeper into that thread, two additional users noted that disabling Apple Intelligence (yes, it’s opt-out) brings back the pre-iOS 18 version of Siri’s voice. The December iOS 18.2 update may have also reset Siri’s voice to its default setting: American, Voice 1.

Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Apple Support Community

To shut off Apple Intelligence, head to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > and toggle off Apple Intelligence. Simple as that. Mashable reached out to Apple for clarification on the changes to Siri's voice, but as of now, there has been no official word. In the meantime, that toggle might be your best bet.

Congress has passed a bill that forces tech companies to take action against certain deepfakes and revenge porn posted on their platforms.

In a 409-2 vote on Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Take It Down" Act, which has received bipartisan support. The bill also received vocal support from celebrities and First Lady Melania Trump. The bill already passed the Senate in a vote last month.

The Take It Down Act will now be sent to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

First introduced by Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar in 2024, the Take It Down Act would require that tech companies take quick action against nonconsensual intimate imagery. Platforms would be required to remove such content within 48 hours of a takedown request. The Federal Trade Commission could then sue platforms that do not comply with such requests.

In addition to targeting tech platforms, the Take It Down Act also carves out punishments, which include fines and potential jail time, for those who create and share such imagery. The new law would make it a federal crime to publish — or even threaten to publish — explicit nonconsensual images, which would include revenge porn and deepfake imagery generated with AI.

Digital rights groups have shared their concerns regarding the Take It Down Act. Activists have said that the bill could be weaponized to censor legally protected speech, and that legal content could be inaccurately flagged for removal.

Despite these concerns, the Take It Down Act even received support from the tech platforms it seeks to police, such as Snapchat and Roblox.

Congress isn't finished addressing AI and deepfakes this year either. Both the NO FAKES Act of 2025 and Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act of 2025 have also been introduced this session. The former seeks to protect individuals from having their voice replicated by AI without their consent, whereas the latter looks to protect original works and require transparency around AI-generated content.

OpenAI is working to fix a bug that allowed — and, in some cases, reportedly encouraged — minors to generate erotica on ChatGPT, as TechCrunch reported on Monday, April 28. OpenAI told TechCrunch that the company is "actively deploying a fix," since its policies don't allow its AI chatbot to send responses like this to users under 18 years old.

Young people have been finding ways to access pornography and erotica since the dawn of the internet, so it's not surprising that youngsters would also test the limits of the popular AI chatbot.

An OpenAI spokesperson told Mashable over email that its "model policies don’t allow the kind of responses that happened here, and they shouldn’t have been shown to users."

“Protecting younger users is a top priority, and our Model Spec, which guides model behavior, clearly restricts sensitive content like erotica to narrow contexts such as scientific, historical, or news reporting. In this case, a bug allowed responses outside those guidelines, and we are actively deploying a fix to limit these generations,” the OpenAI statement read.

You must be 13 years old to use ChatGPT — and even then, you need parental consent if you're under 18. But those rules can be skirted pretty easily as long as you have an email account. Anyone can lie about their age online, after all.

In February, OpenAI updated its policies on how ChatGPT approaches sensitive subjects, including erotica. This may have made it easier for underage users pretending to be adults to generate more sexual responses.

Meta's AI chatbot has also been accused of serving up explicit content to minors. According to a report earlier this week from The Wall Street Journal, Meta loosened the guardrails around its chatbots on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp to make them as engaging as possible. As the WSJ reported, this allowed Meta's AI chatbots to engage in sexual fantasies with young users, although not intentionally. Not only that, but users could even get those fantasies read aloud in the voices of Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, and Kristen Bell. Meta told the outlet that the testing was manipulative and not representative of real-world use.

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.

UPDATE: Apr. 29, 2025, 1:47 p.m. EDT This article has been updated with a response from OpenAI.

UPDATE: Apr. 29, 2025, 1:02 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with a response from Amazon denying the report.

Prices on Amazon have already increased as a result of President Trump's tariffs, and on Tuesday, a report from Punchbowl News claimed that Amazon could soon add a tariff surcharge to its prices.

After questions about the report were escalated to a White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it a "hostile and political act," adding, "it’s not a surprise because Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm."

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Now, Amazon has denied the report altogether.

In a message posted to its Amazon News website, the company said: "The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen.“

The initial report from Punchbowl News said Amazon would reportedly display "how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs — right next to the product’s total listed price." Up to 70 percent of products on Amazon are imported from China, and the U.S. is currently imposing up to 145 percent levies on Chinese goods. The tariffs on China will have reverberations throughout the global supply chain, with big implications for e-commerce giants like Amazon.

The president's tariffs have already affected the cost of certain products sold on Amazon. Anker, the Chinese electronics company known for its power banks and chargers, has raised its prices on Amazon by an average of 18 percent since the tariffs were imposed.

On a related note, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Amazon is "seeking steep discounts from suppliers" in order to protect its profit margins and continue selling imported goods at low prices. Also on Tuesday, Amazon confirmed that Prime Day 2025 will take place in July, though the tariff situation makes this year's event slightly more complicated.

Amazon is scheduled to share its first quarter earnings report this Thursday, where tariffs will likely be a big theme.

TL;DR: Watch Arsenal vs. PSG in the Champions League for free with a 30-day trial of Prime Video. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Champions League semi finals are here, with fans from around the world tuning in to see which sides progress to the main event taking place on May 31.

Arsenal meet PSG in the first of the two matchups taking place this week, with confidence high after knocking Real Madrid out in the last round. PSG will also fancy their chances after narrowly progressing against Aston Villa. It's a difficult game to predict, with both teams stacked with young stars.

If you want to watch Arsenal vs. PSG in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Arsenal vs. PSG?

Arsenal vs. PSG in the Champions League starts at 8 p.m. BST on April 29. This fixture takes place at the Emirates Stadium.

How to watch Arsenal vs. PSG for free

Arsenal vs. PSG is available to live stream on Prime Video, but you don't need to be subscribed to Amazon Prime to watch this fixture. Instead, you can watch Arsenal vs. PSG (plus more Champions League fixtures) for free with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.

If this fixture is not available to watch for free where you are, you should consider using a VPN to live stream the Champions League for free on Prime Video. This process is straightforward:

1. Sign up for a 30-day Amazon Prime trial (if you're not already a member)

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

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

4. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

5. Watch Arsenal vs. PSG for free from anywhere in the world on Prime Video

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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 Arsenal vs. PSG on Prime Video without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Champions League fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Prime Video?

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

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• 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 two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Arsenal vs. PSG in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: This Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 and The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle teaches you how to code and gives you the software to do it for just A$87 (reg. A$3,129).

Still don't know how to code? It's time, and you can consider this well-rounded bundle to be your sign.

This Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 and The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle not only gives you the tools you need right from tech giant Microsoft but also offers an education in coding geared toward total beginners — all for A$87. 

Teach yourself how to code for A$87

Who doesn't love a one-stop shop? If you're finally ready to conquer coding, this bundle gives you the tools you'll need to make a career change. You can take the first step toward being a front-end or back-end developer, a data scientist, a DevOps engineer, or an app developer; the possibilities are nearly endless. 

First things first, you're going to need to learn how to code. The Premium Learn to Code Certification bundle of classes offers 15 online courses geared toward doing just that.

These courses are great for beginners and cover building websites with Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, C++, and more. If you're hoping to build an app, there are courses for that, too, and you have access to all of them for life so that you can go at your own pace. 

Once you've built a foundation in coding, it's time to boot up Microsoft Visual Studio Pro. This trusted platform helps you write, edit, and debug code with ease. Plus, you can work across multiple languages to put your new skills to the test.

With data storytelling on the rise, be at the forefront with your coding background and help from Microsoft Visual Studio Pro, which lets you build data-driven apps or dashboards to bring stories to life so you can thrive in this field. 

Start your coding journey today with the Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 and The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle, now only A$87 (a A$3,129 value). 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: InterPlein Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 + The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle AU$87
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No one wants to go through the inconvenience of traveling without a functional smartphone. Give us the maps, the quick connection to friends and family at home, and, yes, even the ability to check in with work when we need to. 

Unfortunately, roaming on your usual plan can quickly get expensive, adding unnecessary travel costs that could be better spent on memorable experiences. If you’re looking for a better solution, Global eSIMs from Nomad are about to become your favorite travel companion. 

Opens in a new window Credit: Nomad Nomad Global-EX eSIM, 10GB 180-day validity $22.50
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eSIM stands for embedded SIM, and it allows you to connect anywhere, at any time. They work just like a traditional SIM card, but there’s no need to purchase a physical SIM card. Just jump online, choose your plan, and follow the setup instructions. 

Nomad offers affordable, reliable eSIMs with a range of durations and coverage options available. Check out all the perks and plan details below, and use the code NOMMASHABLE25 to get 25% off your Nomad eSIM plan until the end of the month.

Long-term plans for frequent travelers

Digital nomads, travelers on sabbatical, and frequent business trip-takers can tap into Nomad’s unique Global-EX eSIM for long-term value. These 180-day and 365-day plans offer coverage for 54 or 82 countries, with most high-traffic destinations covered. 

By zeroing in on the most relevant locations, Nomad manages to keep their plans impressively cost-effective compared to competitors — a 20GB eSIM, valid over 365 days, comes in at just $50. Plus, you can top up your plan or expand your data limits in real time if your travel plans and data needs change.

New users get a free trial

If you like to try before you buy, take advantage of Nomad's free 24-hour 500MB eSIM data plan, available in 47 popular destinations around the world. There’s no credit card required to sign up, and you can have it installed in five minutes.  

Whether you’re working, vacationing, or a little bit of both, you can rely on fast, stable 4G/5G mobile data and hotspot tethering with this 24-hour free plan.

Give the gift of connection 

Bon voyage gifts can be tricky. You don’t want to give something physical, because you’ll just add to their luggage, and an experience at the destination can be lovely but difficult to organize without giving the secret away. 

An eSIM is the perfect alternative. It can be sent via email and gives your loved ones an easy way to connect with friends and family back home. You can choose any Nomad eSIM to gift; just enter your giftee’s email address when checking out in the Nomad iOS or Android app. Here's how you can gift a Nomad Travel eSIM.

Hotspot your heart out

If you’re on vacation, data on your phone might be enough to get you by, but digital nomads, business travelers, and Millennials who know some emails are simply laptop-only emails might be looking for more.

Thankfully, Nomad’s eSIM plans allow tethering, so you can share the data allowance via a hotspot. 

You can learn more about sharing data through a hotspot on this page.

Specific country plans for popular destinations

If you’re heading abroad for a vacation and looking for a single-country plan, Nomad eSIM has you covered with highly-rated country plans. 

There are flexible, affordable options for specific destinations, and many 30-day plans come in at under $10. You can also choose to build your own plan, selecting a specific number of days at 1GB per day.

These plans are available for top-rated destinations including Greece, Paris, Thailand, Canada, France, Spain, and many more. Check out and learn more about Nomad’s country plans, and find where your next destination is.

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Most travelers would rather spend their planning time finding the best food to eat, things to see, and places to stay than on logistics like data plans. With Nomad eSIM, you don’t have to go far to see that you’re getting a top-rated and highly trusted data provider for tons of popular travel destinations.

Use the code NOMMASHABLE25 to get 25% off any Nomad eSIM plan. Offer ends May 30, 2025. Plans must be activated within 60 days upon purchase. This code cannot be used for add-on data, sale plans, Day Plans, or plans under $5.

SAVE $120: As of April 29, get the 27-inch Samsung Odyssey Curved Gaming Monitor for $179.99 at Samsung. That's a 43% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Odyssey Curved Gaming Monitor $179.99 at Samsung
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If you're looking to add a new display to your PC setup and you enjoy gaming, a curved gaming monitor is always a good idea. Samsung has several models in its repertoire that make for excellent additions, and one of them is on sale right now, straight from the source. You can get one for nearly half off if you head to the Samsung digital storefront, in fact.

As of April 29, get the 27-inch Samsung Odyssey Curved Gaming Monitor for $179.99 at Samsung. That's $120 off and a 43% discount.

This display offers 1.7 times the pixel density of a full HD display, with QHD resolution, a 165Hz refresh rate, and a 1ms response time. That means you can expect much smoother gameplay, without screen tearing, and you won't have to miss a frame when dealing with those twitch-based, fast-paced games.

The 1000R of curvature also makes you feel more like you're actually in the game itself, so you see parts of the environment on both sides of your face. Combned with HDR10 that gives you darker contrast with brighter colors, you get a much more exciting experience than run-of-the-mill monitors. And if you spend a lot of time at your PC, you can use Eye Saver Mode to help cut down on eye strain.

Serious about getting your game on? Or just need a new screen to improve your setup? Grab this monitor and you'll see a difference when it comes to your favorite game worlds.

SAVE $41.99: As of April 29, the Sony ULT Field 1 is down to just $88 at Amazon. That's 32% in savings and matches the Bluetooth speaker's best price ever.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony ULT Field 1 $88 at Amazon
$129.99 Save $41.99 Get Deal

Not every Bluetooth speaker is created equal. That's why we test a ton and round up the ones we deem worthy of a place on our list of the best. The Sony ULT Field 1 has earned one of those spots — and it happens to be on sale for its best price ever.

As of April 29, the Sony ULT Field 1 Bluetooth speaker is on sale for just $88 at Amazon, down from $129.99. That's 32% in savings and matches its lowest price on record, which is hit just once before around the holiday season.

SEE ALSO: Grab the JBL Go 3 Eco speaker for 25% off

Mashable's Shopping and Reviews Editor Miller Kern took the Sony ULT Field 1 for a test drive when it launched last year and was pretty impressed, giving it a glowing 4.5 out of 5 stars. The battery life is just so-so at around 12 hours, but everything else about the speaker is top-notch. Kern specifically praised its sound quality, customizable EQ levels, low-profile design, and bass-thumping ULT setting. While the speaker already offers impressive bass by default, you can press the "ULT" button on the speaker and amplify it even more. And don't worry, it won't sound blown out or fuzzy.

The ULT Field 1 is also waterproof, dustproof, rustproof, and shockproof to make it just as outdoor-friendly as it is indoor. Not to mention, this baby gets loud. "I can’t imagine ever playing music at full volume in my apartment. This speaker would be amazing for beach days or barbecues, though," Kern writes in her review, adding that she could see it becoming her new go-to outdoor speaker.

At only $88, it's an excellent value. Plus, you can choose from four different shades, including a vibrant orange — all of which are on sale.

After 45 grieving families, youth advocates, and child safety experts brought 600 roses and a petition with over 10,000 signatures demanding stronger protections for kids on Meta platforms, security swept the flowers away — a reminder of how Meta continues to sweep away our stories.

I was a teenager when naked images of me were shared on Facebook without my consent. The sexual harassment that followed was relentless — threats, slurs, and dehumanizing language filled my inbox. I reported the abuse to the platforms, but the responses, if any, reinforced that these tech giants do not prioritize their users, especially children.  

Online abuse doesn't stay online. It follows users into every classroom, therapy session, and nightmare. I graduated high school with anxiety, suicidal ideation, and a profound sense of isolation. I survived. But what about the kids who did not survive? Mason Edens, Selena Rodriguez, Riley Rodee are just a few of many children who died by suicide after experiencing abuse and promotion of self-harm online.  

That's why the recent decision by Meta’s Oversight Board to not remove two anti-trans videos cuts deep. The videos show a transgender woman confronted for using a women’s bathroom and a transgender athlete winning a track race, and include the misgendering, demeaning, and endangering of trans people. By allowing two anti-trans videos to stay online, the Board hasn’t just failed its responsibility to users but sanctioned similar violence I once begged Meta to stop. And this time, the target is the trans community. 

This isn't about algorithms or content policy. This is about life. And Meta just made a choice: platform hate over people. They chose wrong. 

Videos like these strip trans people of dignity, spread dangerous misinformation, and fuel the kind of hate that has real, violent consequences. And yet the Board calls it "free expression."

Even more disturbing is the contradiction buried in their decision — the same videos were taken down when posted by Meta itself, but allowed to remain when posted by "others." In other words, Meta admits this content violates its own values, just not when someone else uploads it. That's not moderation. That’s cowardice. 

This isn't a debate. Trans existence is not up for discussion. Whether or not you discuss trans and nonbinary people, we will continue to exist, and we deserve safety. Treating this rhetoric as just another side of a political argument legitimizes hate, and Meta knows it. They’ve chosen to look away — again. 

SEE ALSO: Meta's fact-checking program officially ends on Monday

What happened to me wasn't an isolated incident. It's happening every day to young people everywhere, especially queer, trans, and nonbinary youth. LGBTQ+ youth are three times more likely to experience unwanted or unsafe interactions online, and still, the platforms that promise connection keep delivering cruelty.

When I was violated online, I thought I was the exception. But I've since met survivors whose stories echo mine like a scream through a tunnel. Some had their images stolen and circulated. Some lost their children to sextortion-induced suicide. Some were AI-manipulated into oblivion. Some received death threats after coming out. 

That's what makes the Oversight Board's ruling so dangerous. It isn't just that Meta is allowing anti-trans hate — it's that they are doing so after years failing to moderate transphobia. The patterns are there. The reports are there. The trauma is there. They've just chosen not to act on it.

Hate doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it spreads when given a platform. And when it's legitimized by one of the most powerful tech companies in the world, it grows teeth. I've felt them. 

In January 2025, Meta made a quiet but devastating shift. They gutted their human content moderation teams, leaned harder on flawed AI systems, and shut down partnerships with fact-checkers and safety experts. It wasn’t a glitch. It was a strategy: reduce liability, cut costs, and call it innovation. But what Meta calls "efficiency" comes at the expense of safety. Of truth. Of lives.

The Oversight Board's ruling isn’t a one-off failure — it's the natural result of Meta’s retreat from responsibility. They’re not just enabling harm; they're designing systems that scale it.

I've seen what happens when platforms walk away from protecting people. I've lived inside the wreckage. I can tell you this: Meta's current trajectory isn't just unethical. It's lethal. That's why we're not asking. We're demanding.

We demand that Meta reinstate robust human content moderation — especially for hate speech, CSAM, and targeted harassment. We demand immediate removal of anti-trans hate and clear consequences for those who spread it. We demand transparency, accountability, and a CEO willing to face the damage his platforms have caused. 

I survived what Meta allowed to happen to me. But I carry the scars in my nervous system, in my relationships, in the way I move through the world. And I know there are others — kids just like I was — logging in today, not knowing what’s coming for them.

That's why I'm writing this. Not just as a survivor, but as a witness. To say: this is not abstract. This is not academic. This is blood, bone, and breath. If Meta won't protect us, we'll protect each other. If they won’t listen, we'll make them hear us. I made it out. But no one else should have to survive what I did just to grow up online. 

Leah Juliett (they/them/theirs) is a poet, community organizer, and activist for queer futures and against Big Tech. They live in Connecticut. This column reflects the opinion of the writer.