Technology

We all need charging cables, and the costs can add up quickly. So it's tempting to simply order the cheapest cables you can find and call it a day. However, saving a few dollars on charging cables can end up costing you much more than it saves you in the short term.

We are hours away from Apple’s big ‘Awe Dropping’ event, which promises several big announcements like the iPhone 17, the Apple Watch Series 11, and the AirPods Pro 3. The whole presentation will be streamed live, like most of Apple’s events, and those events tend to be pretty entertaining to watch (for tech nerds like us, at least). It’s also widely accessible, so you won’t have to try too hard. 

The event is slated to start at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) and should last around an hour to an hour and a half. On top of the above products, Apple is also expected to launch the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, and potentially the long-awaited second generation of the AirTag. There are some things we’re all but certain Apple won’t announce, but for the most part, these September iPhone launch events are pretty set in stone. 

In any case, here are all the livestreaming options to bookmark. Oh, and don’t forget to stop by our live blog where we’ll be recapping it blow by blow.

Apple’s website

Officially, Apple is streaming the event directly from its events website. Simply show up there at the appointed time, and a live stream option will appear. Apple does this with all of its events, and the streams generally have good quality, so it’s a good place to start. Apple even has a handy “Add to calendar” function so you can get a reminder when it starts. 

Apple TV

Apple is also streaming the event on its Apple TV app. Simply launch the app at the appointed hour, and there will be an option to stream the Apple Event 2025 live. 

YouTube

There will be several publications live-streaming the event on YouTube, including our sister site CNET. These live streams will be mirrors of the actual event and may have some additional commentary from reporters at the event. In addition, these live streams usually have an active comment section so you can chit-chat about the event while you watch it if you prefer, which is the primary benefit of watching it this way. 

Apple’s official YouTube channel will also live-stream the event. Follow the link to head straight to the video. This will be the same stream as you’ll find on Apple’s website and Apple TV, but with the convenience of being on YouTube, which has a lot more options for watching, especially for folks without an iPhone. 

The CNET and Mashable live show

While we can't stream the Apple event directly, Mashable's Tech Editor will be joining tech editors from our sister sites CNET, Lifehacker, and PCMag for a live pre- and post-show event. You can tune into our coverage on YouTube.

What to expect

For the most part, Apple is expected to launch the devices listed above, including its iPhone 17 Air, a competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge. However, aside from the new iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods, there is a small, non-zero chance that Apple may sneak in some other fun stuff as well, such as a revamped Apple TV 4K.

For more Apple event coverage, follow Mashable's live blog and get real-time updates on the iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11, and AirPods Pro 3 launch.

Move over, Google Search. AI Mode is here, and it isn't going anywhere.

Rumors are currently swirling around when exactly Google's AI Mode will become the default search tool on Google's homepage, replacing the classic Google Search. As we move deeper into the AI search era, many search experts believe that AI mode will inevitably replace the list of links searchers are used to seeing.

Now, a Google leader has said that this shift could be coming sooner than expected.

On Friday, Logal Kilpatrick, the lead product manager for Google AI Studio, shared that Google was making AI Mode easily accessible at a new "google.com/AI" URL.

In response to Kilpatrick's X post, a user suggested that AI Mode should be the default search experience, to which Kilpatrick responded, "soon."

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Google has gone all-in on AI over the past few years with Gemini and an assortment of other AI products. When it comes to search, Google has already shifted focus to its AI Overviews feature, the AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of many Google query results pages.

AI Mode is a new Google AI search tool that launched over the summer. It combines a classic AI chatbot experience with Google's search tools to provide real-time AI-generated answers instead of the traditional list of links.

During its Q2 earnings call in late July, Google reported that AI Mode has received "very positive feedback" and "already has over 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. and India.” Since then, AI Mode has expanded its rollout into more than 180 additional countries and territories

When and if AI Mode really does replace traditional Google Search, the results could be catastrophic for the web economy. Many publishers depend on traffic from Google search results, and this traffic has declined sharply as Google embraces AI search results that often result in zero clicks.

Major publishers like The New York Times have seen significant drops in traffic from organic search traffic. The Columbia Journalism Review referred to this widespread phenomenon as the "traffic apocalypse"; the Wall Street Journal called it "AI armageddon"; and The Economist recently wrote that "AI is killing the web".

Is AI mode replacing Google Search?

The truth is that we don't know yet, and Google executives are sending mixed messages.

As Kilpatrick's response started to spread, the company's VP of Product at Google Search, Robby Stein, attempted to downplay Kilpatrick's post.

"wouldn’t read too much into this," Stein wrote on X. "we’re focusing on making it easy to access AI Mode for those who want it."

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But just as Stein said that we shouldn't read too much into what Kilpatrick wrote, we might not want to read too much into what Stein himself wrote either.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said previously that the "10 blue links" era of search is antiquated, and that AI Mode is "a total reimagining" of search for the future. In addition, the fact that Google is embracing AI search is self-evident. Google has already made its AI Overviews feature the default on its search results pages, and the quality of traditional Google Search has degraded significantly in recent years as the company focuses on AI search tools. 

Why does it matter?

Google replacing its classic Google Search tool with AI Mode would cause massive changes to the internet as we know it. Billions of Google searches are made every single day, and studies have found that Google's AI Overviews have already had significant negative impacts on publishers' web traffic. Google has consistently disputed that AI Overviews results in reduced traffic to publishers, but the company has also failed to produce any data that would make this denial convincing.

And it just doesn't seem like Google's AI tools are fit to take over. A Mashable investigation recently found that AI Overviews routinely makes errors and suffers from hallucinations.

For example, Mashable's Chris Taylor has put AI Overviews through extensive testing and was concerned with not just how wrong it could be, but how confidently wrong it could be. Oddly enough, Taylor found that in situations where AI Mode answered a query correctly, AI Overviews would get it wrong. Perhaps that's a point in AI Mode's favor, but it's still an issue overall for Google's AI products.

If you need a new work computer and have a tight budget of only $400, it might seem like an impossible task. However, if you know where and how to spend your money, you can build a surprisingly capable workstation setup. Here’s what I’d do with that budget.

Ever wondered what the Linux ip command might be able to do for you? Maybe you're just getting into Linux terminal work or network management. Let me walk you through some basic examples of the ip command at work.

I'm not much of an online multiplayer gamer, preferring to play single-player games, or sticking to local multiplayer with people I know.

Protests erupted in Nepal on Monday after a controversial social media ban blocked people in the country from accessing most forms of social media. The youth-led "Gen Z" protests over the social media ban and government corruption triggered a violent reaction, and the BBC reported that 19 protesters have been killed. The New York Times also cited local media reports that said 400 people have been injured in the ongoing protests.

Amid the protests, a popular VPN provider reported an 8,000 percent spike in signups, ostensibly so Nepali users could get back online and use social media. 

The trouble began when Nepal passed a ban that removed access to 26 social media platforms, including legacy platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit, along with newer platforms like Threads, Discord, and Mastodon. Authorities in Nepal told the New York Times these platforms have not registered with the Nepali government. 

TikTok was able to circumvent the ban by registering back in 2024, and Telegram is reportedly in the process of registering right now. In addition to official registration, each social media company has to have a local point of contact to help battle misinformation and abuse. Nepal’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology posted a notice that companies can get off the ban list by registering. 

While the ban has been enacted in full, many people are angry because the bill hasn’t passed the country’s parliament, sparking charges of government censorship. The social media ban reportedly caused lingering anger over government corruption and economic inequality to boil over, leading to the explosive Gen Z protests that occurred Monday, as the Times reported. Meanwhile, many Nepali people are finding other ways to get online.

As the ban went into effect on Sept. 4, Proton VPN recorded an 8,000 percent increase in new users for its VPN services, which can be used to circumvent georestrictions on specific websites or apps. Proton VPN posted a graph showing new users in Nepal joining en masse starting on Sept. 3, with the numbers skyrocketing after Sept. 4 when the ban went into full effect. Proton VPN is one of the most popular VPN services, with a reputation for having some of the best privacy features of any VPN.

A graph posted to the Proton VPN website. Credit: Proton VPN This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The company has reported similar spikes in signups following high-profile bans in other countries. For instance, after PornHub was recently blocked in France, Proton VPN signups surged 1,000 percent.

Per a Reuters report, police responded to the civil unrest with tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. The day turned violent after protesters forced their way into the parliament complex in Kathmandu.

This year marked the first-ever international sporting event to feature humanoid robots as athletes. These robots, with some help from the humans behind their creation, competed against each other in the World Humanoid Robot Games to showcase the athletic and practical abilities these machines possess.

As screens get bigger, using a phone one-handed has become challenging over the years. However, if you use an iPhone, you can take advantage of some built-in iOS features to make the experience more comfortable.

Google's Gemini has finally added the ability to upload and analyze audio files. This new feature takes your audio files, including common formats like MP3, M4A, and WAV, and can transcribe, summarize, and extract key details from the content.

uBlock Origin, the popular browser extension for blocking ads and trackers, just received another update. uBlock Origin version 1.66 adds new blocking options, removes some built-in lists, and makes a few other changes.

UPDATE: Sep. 8, 2025, 3:03 p.m. EDT Google reported that issues with Meet have been "resolved for all affected users," according to an update posted to its app status dashboard. "From preliminary analysis, the root cause of the issue is a recent change in content edge cache," the update read. "Our engineers have resolved the issue by rolling back the change."

Google Meet appeared to suffer an outage on Monday as users reported issues with the tech giant's videoconferencing tool.

User-reported issues with Google Meet began to spike sharply on Down Detector shortly after 1 p.m. ET. It's worth noting that these problems are reported by users and do not always indicate an issue for all users. (Disclosure: Both Down Detector and Mashable are owned by Ziff Davis.)

Google acknowledged Meet was having issues in an update to its app status dashboard. "Some Google Meet customers are experiencing issues with loading the meet UI," the update read, while noting that could mean slow load times or the inability to join meetings.

"Our engineering team continues to investigate the issue," the update read.

Lots of people posted online about problems with Google Meet, some celebrating the sudden cancellation of meetings.

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YouTube's exclusive rights to the first Friday night game of the NFL season seems to have paid off.

Over 17.3 million football fans watched the exclusive NFL broadcast on YouTube TV last Friday, according to Google (via Variety). Millions tuned in on the streaming platform to watch the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs (27-21), which was broadcast by YouTube for free.

SEE ALSO: Yes, that weird NFL parade float commercial was made with generative AI

YouTube won the coveted exclusive rights for the Friday game, which was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The game took place on Sept. 5, the day after the NFL season opener on Thursday. YouTube told Variety the 17.3 million stat included 1.1 million viewers outside of the U.S., with 16.2 million views across YouTube and other distribution platforms in the U.S.

Over the past few years, streaming platforms have paid extravagant sums to the NFL in exchange for broadcasting rights throughout the football season. Amazon Prime has the Thursday Night Football rights and YouTube has the Sunday Night ticket. Other games are broadcast by Netflix, NBC's Peacock, classic networks like ESPN and Fox, and others, forming a confusing, patchwork schedule requiring multiple subscriptions, which can quickly add up for viewers. On top of that, fans will need additional subscriptions to watch all of the out-of-market NFL games.

Mashable's Tim Marcin did the math last year and calculated that it would cost $891.36 in streaming bills to watch all the 2024 NFL games.

While the Friday game was free to watch, YouTube was, of course, promoting its Sunday Night ticket. This subscription, which streams regular-season games broadcast on Fox and CBS, will set you back $85 a month (or $276 for the full season). Professional football is obviously a big business, and the number of people tuning in proves that.

By comparison, Amazon reported a season average of 12.3 million viewers for its Thursday Night Football broadcast, according to Variety.

SEE ALSO: How to watch NFL games without cable: The best football streaming deals for the 2025–2026 season

It's getting more and more difficult to navigate an internet ecosystem rife with AI-generated video — much of it slop — designed to flood the ephemeral attention marketplace online. Good news movie buffs: That experience could soon come to a theater near you!

The Wall Street Journal published an exclusive report on a project called Critterz that is backed by OpenAI and will look to make a feature-length movie largely created via generative artificial intelligence. The movie centers on woodland creatures going on an adventure. The exact process of how the movie will be made wasn't made totally clear. The report from the WSJ suggested the script was human-written and that human artists would feed images into AI tools to generate footage.

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The selling point of Critterz, at least as it seems in the WSJ article, was lowered costs and a faster turnaround. That is, by and large, the selling point for a lot of AI-generated "art" — you can get cheap output quickly. After all, human workers have a pesky habit of requiring money to purchase things such as food and shelter.

While certainly an impressive technology, AI video in commercial settings has, at times, proven odd or uncanny-valley-esque. But it is cheap and quick. Forget a resonant message on the human experience, isn't maximized profitability what we all want out of our films?

In all seriousness, AI certainly threatens to upend the movie industry. Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, and Universal have all sued AI video generation tool Midjourney for copyright infringement, for instance. An Amazon-backed AI firm recently announced plans to recreate the lost minutes of an Orson Welles film, much to the chagrin of the great director's estate.

But OpenAI's Critterz is certainly the most ambitious, brazen even, attempt at replacing human filmmaking with AI to date. The WSJ reported the team hopes for the film to debut at Cannes Film Festival in May. We'll have a better look at the future of movies — for better or worse — in just a few short months.

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.

SAVE $700: As of Sept. 8, the 55-inch Samsung The Frame TV is on sale for just $797.96 at Amazon. That's 47% off its list price and marks a new best price ever for the TV.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 55-inch The Frame 4K QLED TV (LS03D) $797.96 at Amazon
$1,497.99 Save $700.03 Get Deal

While it's not traditionally the best time of year to buy a new TV, Samsung apparently doesn't follow the rules. Not only is the Q8F QLED TV at a record-low price, but so is the 55-inch The Frame TV.

As of Sept. 8, you can grab the 55-inch Samsung The Frame TV for only $797.96 at Amazon. That's a 47% discount and a new best price ever on the LS03D model (it beats the Prime Day price by a few cents — but every cent matters in this economy).

The most elegant TV upgrade you can get, The Frame TV is a QLED 4K TV that doubles as wall art. If you're not into a giant black slab of tech hanging on the wall, it's the TV for you. When you're not watching football on Sundays or catching up on your favorite Netflix series, its matte screen and customizable thin-bezel frames give the illusion of framed wall art. It features over 2,500 pieces of art from major museums like The Met and MoMA in Samsung's Art Store. Plus, you can customize the functions to suit your lifestyle. Want the TV to shut off when nobody is around to see it? Your wish is Samsung's command.

Besides the art aspect, The Frame TV is also just a solid QLED TV. It's not the fanciest model on the market, but it's not meant to be. The Frame is built more for households that want a decent TV when it's time to watch it and artwork when it's not. At 47% off, the price is more than justified. We recommend grabbing the 55-inch model while it's under $800 for only the second time ever.

SAVE 20%: As of Sept. 8, you can get LG's 27-inch StanbyMe for $796.99, down from $999.99. That's a 20% discount and a $203 savings.

Opens in a new window Credit: LG LG 27-inch StanbyMe $796.99 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $203 Get Deal

If you’ve been on TikTok or Instagram lately, you’ve probably seen the LG StanbyMe in at least one influencer’s grid. Although these monitors are often glorified by the Instagram girlies who take bathtime to another (bacterially-scary) level, they’re actually a handy gadget to have in the kitchen, a workshop, or any space where you need to get work done with a little hands-free instructional help. And right now, you can get it for less than $800 at Amazon.

SEE ALSO: The best monitors in 2025

As of Sept. 8, you can get LG's 27-inch StanbyMe for $796.99, down from $999.99. That's a 20% discount and a $203 savings. This is the best price we’ve tracked for this portable, rollable monitor. The last time it was this low was back in November 2024.

The LG StanbyMe is essentially a TV and a tablet combined. The stand's base has five wheels, so you can literally roll it from the kitchen for recipe videos to the garage for a workout tutorial. The main trick is that the screen fully rotates: keep it in landscape mode for movies, then flip it vertically to scroll through TikTok or read an article, just like you would on your phone.

It's also worth noting that this product line has serious industry recognition. While this deal covers the original model, LG recently released the StanbyMe 2, which just won an Honoree award for Best in Home Entertainment at the IFA Innovation Awards.

One of the most controversial aspects of the nascent Nintendo Switch 2 era might have seriously benefited at least one third-party title.

Star Wars: Outlaws was recently ported to Switch 2, after previously being exclusive to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles. It's a hugely ambitious port that exists only in "game key card format" for those who prefer physical purchases, and according to Ubisoft developer Rob Bantin on Bluesky, it was actually key to getting the game running on Switch 2 at all.

First, some context. Game key cards are a pretty roundly unpopular format for physical releases that Nintendo introduced alongside Switch 2. It's basically a license for a digital download that lives on a cartridge, as opposed to the game data being on the cartridge itself. Most agree that it's bad for historical preservation (Nintendo will shut off those download servers someday), and so far seemingly the only benefit to them has been as a cost-cutting measure for game manufacturers who don't want to shell out for cartridges with high storage capacities for bigger games.

According to Bantin, though, Ubisoft chose this format for Outlaws not to save money, but because the developers had a hard time getting the game to run acceptably on a regular cartridge due to in-the-weeds technical issues surrounding the Snowdrop engine that Outlaws runs on. By putting the game on a game key card, Ubisoft was able to circumvent those limitations.

SEE ALSO: 'Kirby Air Riders' is a 'Super Smash'-style racer that triggers all the good brain chemicals

"[The Snowdrop engine] relies heavily on disk streaming for its open world environments, and we found the Switch 2 cards simply didn’t give the performance we needed at the quality target we were going for," Bantin said. "I don’t recall the cost of the cards ever entering the discussion - probably because it was moot."

For what it's worth, that decision seems to have paid off. The Switch 2 version of Outlaws has been very well received by experts who perform technical analysis of games, like Digital Foundry. That particular channel called it an "extraordinary" port that maintains a level of visual quality that's pretty comparable to the Xbox Series S version, including ray tracing features that almost seem like they shouldn't be possible on Switch 2. Having played the game myself on PS5 (and also having a basic understanding of the power differential between that console and Switch 2), it looks very impressive.

All of the aforementioned problems with game key cards still exist, to be sure, but in this case, the format may have justified its existence a little bit.

MacOS 26 Tahoe is finally coming. Apple’s big new Mac-focused operating system gets its new naming scheme, based on the year. But it’s not all about naming – the new OS also gets a series of features that make it more uniform with Apple’s other operating systems, and more helpful in general.

All these changes come together into a new operating system that could be the biggest shift for macOS in many years. While some of them take some getting used to, the majority of changes to the OS are genuinely helpful. So what's new with macOS 26? I’ve been using the MacOS 26 Tahoe beta for a while now to find out.

An all-new design language Credit: Christian de Looper

Like the rest of Apple's software lineup, macOS 26 gets the Liquid Design treatment, essentially giving the software glass-like objects and layers. But, the way Liquid Glass looks on MacOS is slightly different than on other Apple operating systems. For example, it’s apparent in services like Spotlight, in menus, and in the dock. Of course, it also shows up in areas like Control Center, just like on iOS and iPadOS. And, like on other platforms, buttons show up in layered areas.

There are other design changes in MacOS 26 too though. Notably, windows have more rounded corners, and there are more layered designs for things like sidebars in apps like Finder. It definitely gives the operating system a fresh look, and while not everyone is thrilled with it, I can say that you get used to the design pretty quick.

A better Spotlight Credit: Christian de Looper

One MacOS feature in particular that has gotten a big update is Spotlight. Apple’s goal with Spotlight was to make it more powerful, and indeed, the universal search bar for the Mac is now a whole lot more universal. 

Now, Spotlight can search across the entire operating system, including individual files, folders, apps, and even messages. Speaking of apps, Spotlight now replaces the App Library in MacOS – and Apple has completely removed the launcher grid of apps. There’s still an icon for the app list in the dock, but pressing it will bring you to Spotlight instead.

Spotlight actually gets even more powerful features that make it a replacement for some third-party Spotlight-type apps. Notably, Spotlight can now filter searches, search only through specific areas of your Mac, and use app actions, like those you can find in Siri Shortcuts. That means that you can control certain aspects of apps without ever having to open the app. If you’re willing to learn how to use those features, it makes Spotlight a whole lot more powerful. I rely on Spotlight for finding apps, files, and more – and I’ve even started using it for app actions with this new feature. That in particular is a feature that can be as advanced as you want it to be. Thankfully, if you don’t want to use it at all, Spotlight still will work as well as it always has. 

Phone app for Mac Credit: Apple

To date, making phone calls using Continuity with your phone has been a little complicated – but that changes with MacOS 26. Now, MacOS has a new phone app that looks and acts a lot like the Phone app on the iPhone, though expanded. You’ll be able to make calls to favorite contacts, dial phone numbers, and search contacts, all without ever having to open the FaceTime app. It works well, and while not everyone will need it, it’s nice to have for those who don’t want to have to pick up their phone every time they want to make a call while already using their Mac.

Live Activities

Live Activities have been available on the iPhone for a while now, but now those same Live Activities will show up on your Mac too. You’ll see Live Activities in the menu bar on your Mac, allowing you to easily keep up with things like sports scores, Uber progress, and more. The data is pulled straight from your connected iPhone, and it looks and feels a whole lot like Live Activities do in the Dynamic Island on iOS. Click on the Live Activity in the menu bar, and you’ll see expanded information – again, just like you would in the Dynamic Island. 

Shortcuts is now AI-powered Credit: Christian de Looper

Nerds like me love Apple Shortcuts for automating activities across operating systems – and it gets a whole lot more powerful in MacOS 26. How? Through the power of AI, of course. Now, in Siri Shortcuts you’ll be able to leverage Apple Intelligence for all kinds of different tasks, making use of the actual Apple Intelligence model for things like summarizing text, giving you a morning summary with weather and calendar events, and so on. Having that kind of access in Shortcuts unlocks all kinds of options for those who want to tinker too, as you can use Apple Intelligence as one step in a series of steps in a Shortcut. I personally use Shortcuts all the time, and being able to use an LLM in the flow of a Shortcut makes it a whole lot more powerful. 

Games app Credit: Christian de Looper

Apple is seemingly making a bigger push into gaming, and in that effort has launched a new Games app on many of its major operating systems. The Games app is relatively well-designed, and essentially works as a launcher to get you back into games you’ve been playing. It also offers suggestions for new games you might like, based on games you’ve played in the past. Considering the fact that over the past few years we’ve started seeing ports of more AAA games to Apple devices, this could come in handy – especially if developers continue to take advantage of the graphics performance of Apple Silicone.

For more Apple event coverage, follow Mashable's live blog and get real-time updates on the iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11, and AirPods Pro 3 launch. 

The specs for Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 lineup might've leaked just ahead of the highly anticipated "Awe Dropping" Apple Event 2025 on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Let's be clear, however, that these rumored specifications are just speculation, at least for the moment. The apparent leak was written up in Apple-focused publications like 9to5 Mac and Apple Insider, which cover iPhone news in granular detail. The specs in question were first posted to X by tech leaker Jukan, who claimed to have a photograph showing a complete breakdown of the specs of the entire iPhone 17 lineup. The picture in question reportedly came from a Korean mobile carrier.

The leaker's tweet, however, has since been deleted.

Others did repost the alleged leak.

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There have been plenty of leaks and rumors about the iPhone 17, of course. Of particular note in this rumored leak: The 17 Pro and Pro Max would have an 8x zoom as well as support for 8K video on those top-of-the-line models. The iPhone 16 Pro models have just a 5x zoom feature (rivals offer a 100x super zoom setting).

Still, it's worth noting that the specs in this particular leak are far from confirmed and, as 9to5 Mac noted, carriers at times "create documentation like this in advance of official announcements based on consensus rumors." In addition, it's very easy to create phony images using generative AI, and we can't confirm this particular leak.

Fortunately enough, we won't have to wait long until we get the true specs for the iPhone 17 lineup. It's all but a certainty we'll get the official announcement at Apple's Tuesday event.

For more Apple event coverage, follow Mashable's live blog and get real-time updates on the iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11, and AirPods Pro 3 launch.

After five seasons of Only Murders in the Building, I've realized I don't care much about the show's murder mysteries anymore.

Yes, I gasp at every end-of-episode twist and give suspicious new characters the side-eye, but I'm not watching Only Murders for its murders. I'm watching it for the building.

SEE ALSO: 'Only Murders in the Building' Season 5 trailer: Christoph Waltz and Renée Zellweger are among the new suspects

More specifically, the community the show has built within the Arconia. At the center of it all is the trio of Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), a combination that still charms, five seasons in. The Arconia is more than just them, though. It's a complex ecosystem of tenants and staff that gains enticing new details each season, from secret tunnel systems to the West Tower sqaud known as the Westies. Season 5's additions prove extra juicy, giving Charles, Oliver, and Mabel new secrets to unravel, all while returning the show to its New York roots.

In Only Murders in the Building Season 5, it's old New York versus new New York. Steve Martin and Teddy Coluca in "Only Murders in the Building." Credit: Disney / Patrick Harbron

Over the course of its run, Only Murders in the Building started to give themes to its murder mysteries. Season 3 brought the show into the world of Broadway, while Season 4 plunged into the filmmaking industry.

In Season 5, the show shakes off its Hollywood glam and goes full "old New York," as Charles and Oliver call it. Think mobsters, doormen, and wheeling corpses through Manhattan streets in a dry cleaning bin.

The first corpse on the Only Murders crew's investigation list is that of Arconia doorman Lester Coluca (Teddy Coluca), whom they found dead in the Arconia fountain in the Season 4 finale. The police have ruled it an accident, but our intrepid murder podcasters aren't buying it. A trail involving a severed finger and the long-missing mobster Nicky Caccimelio (Bobby Cannavale) leads them to suspect the New York mob has something to do with Lester's death.

However, new suspects arrive on the scene in the form of three powerful billionaires: Sebastian "Bash" Steed (Christoph Waltz), who "owns the internet" and is obsessed with longevity; Camila White (Renée Zellweger), a hotel magnate and interior designer who never met a beige she didn't like; and Jay Pflug (Logan Lerman), heir to a pharmaceutical fortune who's infuriatingly obsessed with downplaying his billionaire status.

SEE ALSO: 'Only Murders in the Building' Season 4 finale: Wait, what about those loose ends from Season 1?

Only Murders paints these three as the new mob of New York, hellbent on shaping the city to their needs. Their visions of the city's future don't include New York staples like doormen. No, for them, robot doormen are the future! (Because even Only Murders has to tackle the AI debate.)

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The juxtaposition between the old and new mobs of New York makes for a delicious push and pull throughout the season, building atmosphere even as the mystery gets overly convoluted. The incorporation of a robot is already a bit much, for example, and the podcasting trio and the billionaire trio have basically the same exact conversation multiple times throughout the season. But what the season lacks in cohesion, it more than makes up for in pure, unadulterated vibes.

Murders aside, Only Murders in the Building remains a cozy comfort watch. Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, and Martin Short in "Only Murders in the Building." Credit: Disney / Patrick Harbron

These vibes are shaped by some new bombshell reveals about the Arconia, which continues to shift and grow from season to season, as much a character as Charles, Oliver, and Mabel at this point.

The building's newly revealed secrets enhance the season's old New York feel, but they also give the Arconia more history, adding to the building's storied past — and how Lester ties into it all. Only Murders Season 5 explores Lester's history with the building in its standout second episode, which focuses on Lester's experience at the Arconia through the years. Any time Only Murders spends an episode on a side character, you're in for a treat, one that deepens the world of the Arconia beyond the viewpoints of Charles, Oliver, and Mabel. Season 5's Lester episode is no different: a reminder of the stories of the people around you whom you may not notice, and may even take for granted.

There's more where that came from, with Only Murders looping in more members of the Arconia's staff, including new doorman Randall (Jermaine Fowler). But it also leans hard on its core dynamic, and understandably so. Martin, Short, and Gomez remain an unlikely match made in TV heaven, with each getting intriguing new ground to cover this season. A new medication for Charles grants Martin more opportunities for outrageous physical comedy. Elsewhere, Oliver embraces his new married life with Loretta (Meryl Streep), leading to more adorable scenes between Short and Streep (who is game to do so many accents this season). Finally, Mabel reunites with middle school friend-turned-pop star Althea (Beanie Feldstein), ushering in waves of unexpected insecurity.

And of course, there's nothing the show does better than letting us sit back and watch Martin, Short, and Gomez bicker over a crime scene. Only Murders' mysteries may not be hitting the same as they did in the first season, but the show's team of amateur detectives and the building they live in are the TV gift that keeps on giving.

The first three episodes of Only Murders in the Building Season 5 premiere Sept. 9 on Hulu, with new episodes every Tuesday.