Technology

When XPENG invited me to China for a four-day press trip spanning Guangzhou and Beijing, I'll admit my expectations were mixed. Bold claims about self-driving tech from a Chinese EV brand—that I'd heard before. A flying car was something else entirely.

Google's yet-to-be-announced Pixel Watch 5 has turned up somewhere the company almost certainly didn't intend — on the ocean floor near the Caribbean island of St. Martin.

The source of the leak is Gearbox Software founder Randy Pitchford, who posted two images on X showing what appears to be an unreleased Pixel Watch 5 in his possession. A bizarre sentence for sure, but the former studio head wrote that a friend had discovered the smartwatch while scuba diving, and it was still partially functional despite its time underwater. It was only able to display the correct time on what appeared to be a reserve charge.

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In the age of AI, it's hard to trust photographs entirely, but Pitchford's photos seem legit. "Pixel Watch 5" is clearly visible around the rim, and Pitchford's own face is reflected in the screen as he takes the shot. Beyond that, there's not a ton to learn from it — the ocean stay did a number on the battery, so hands-on impressions are limited to "it exists."

On the specs side, don't expect a dramatic leap from the Pixel Watch 4, which launched last fall. Android Central reported back in August 2025 that blood pressure monitoring and arterial stiffness tracking could be on the way, along with a proprietary Google Tensor chip for the watch codenamed "NPT."

Pitchford later confirmed on X that the watch's owner had been found and that a return was in the works. Mashable reached out to Google for comment, but did not receive a response before publication time.

If Google sticks to last year's launch schedule, the Pixel Watch 5 should be released in August.

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took the stage at Computex to unveil the new Vera Rubin AI computing platform, the Vera CPU, a new collaboration with Microsoft that promises to “reinvent” the PC and its new open source AI models.

VS Code is everywhere, but it comes at a cost: RAM, startup time, and creeping complexity. After spending serious time with three leaner alternatives, I'm not going back.

TL;DR: The Oura Ring 4 is finally on sale at Amazon. As of June 1, you can score up to 31% off select colors, including midnight (ceramic), petal (ceramic), and stealth (metallic).

Oura Ring 4 (ceramic, midnight) $398 at Amazon
$499 Save $101   Get Deal at Amazon

If you've been eyeing the Oura Ring 4, but couldn't justify the $399 price tag, you have a short window to get it on sale at Amazon. With the Oura Ring 5 making its debut on June 5 (it's available for preorder now), the company is temporarily knocking the price off of select finishes/colors/sizes.

SEE ALSO: I tried the best smart rings of 2026 — yes, there's more than just Oura

The only catch is that the discounts vary depending on your finger size and the finish you want. If you happen to be a size 8 and want the ceramic midnight colorway, you're in luck — it's 31% off. For everyone else, you'll just have to click through your specific size and preferred color to see the markdown.

Even though it's about to be replaced by the newer model (which is said to be 40 percent smaller), the Oura Ring 4 is a Mashable Choice Award winner that still accurately tracks your sleep, activity, and cycle data without the premium price tag. At $345, it’s a much more reasonable entry point into smart rings.

If the first thing you do after buying a new Android phone is head straight into Developer options and drop the animation scale to 0.5x, you're already ahead of most people. It’s one of Android’s worst-kept secrets that instantly makes any phone feel faster and more responsive.

PREORDER THE NEW LEGO LORD OF THE RINGS LEGO SET AND GET TWO FREE LEGO SETS: Preorders for the Lego Icons The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith quality for two free Lego sets. Get a free Lego Grond set and a free Lego Ninja Cole's Car with preorders. The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith set sells for $649.99 with a release date set for June 4.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Icons Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith (11377) $649.99 at Lego
get two free Lego sets with order Pre-order Here

We've all heard the warnings — this summer is going to be a scorcher. Instead of sweating it out at the beach, how about working on a massive Lego project that's nearly 1,000 pieces? On June 4, Lego is releasing The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith set, and preorders come with great perks.

Through June 7, orders for the new Lego Icons The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith (11377) come with two free Lego sets. The Lego set comes with a price tag of $649.99 with a release date of June 4. Orders qualify for a free Lego Grond set and a free Lego Ninja Cole's Car set. In total, you'll be saving $34.98 with the two free sets.

There's never a bad time to start a giant Lego built. Clear the dining room table or the coffee table because the Lego Icons The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith is taking over, in the most welcomed way. The set has 8,278 Lego pieces with 10 minifigures. Perfect for those with a Middle-Earth collection, Minas Tirith includes both exterior and interior details fans are sure to enjoy both building and displaying.

SEE ALSO: Lego's Cherry Blossom set is just $8 at Amazon right now

Once competed, the set measures about 24 inches tall, 24 inches wide, and 15 inches deep, so clear a large spot on the bookshelf for this one. Plus, the freebies are fun. The Grond Lego build will add to The Lord of the Rings Lego collection and the Ninja Cole's Car is great mini build.

If you're a Lord of the Rings fan and enjoy Lego builds, hop on this great deal to score two free Lego sets. All three sets combined will be the perfect summer activity done from the comfort of indoors.

Figuring out network issues is probably my least-favorite thing to do that's related to my PC (or my home network in general). It can take ages, simply because so many little factors can manifest themselves in various ways, ruining everything around them with little fanfare. Even something as simple as a mesh router can ruin internet speeds, for instance.

Nvidia has unveiled its first laptop CPU for the mainstream, the RTX Spark. It's built to power AI agents, content creation, and gaming, and it's already finding its way into Windows laptops from major brands — including in a MacBook Pro rival from Microsoft.

SAVE $48.55: As of June 1, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 Bluetooth speaker is on sale at Amazon for only $51.44. That's just shy of 50% off its list price and its lowest cost on record.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 $51.44 at Amazon
$99.90 Save $48.46   Get Deal

Mashable's shopping team's favorite Bluetooth speaker under $100 is now under $55. We've tested tons of Bluetooth speakers and the itty bitty Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 made quite the impression. If you're in the market for an ultra-portable speaker that's an absolute powerhouse, we highly recommend scooping it up while it's on sale.

As of June 1, the Wonderboom 4 in blue is down to just $51.44 at Amazon. That's nearly 50% off its list price of $99.99 and the best price on record according to the price-tracking tool camelcamelcamel.

When we say itty bitty, we aren't being dramatic. The Wonderboom 4 fits snugly in the palm of your hand, but is surprisingly powerful and balanced. There's even an outdoor boost button to crank things up a notch when the moment calls for it. "The sound profile is well-rounded and can get loud," Mashable's reviewer Bethany Allard writes, but adds that she wishes there was a companion app for more customization.

Still, for a no-frills speaker, it's an excellent value. It can last up to 14 hours per charge, handle drops from up to five feet without breaking a sweat, and be fully submerged in water for up to half an hour and still live to tell the tale. Whether you want something to take along on hikes, beach trips, pool days, or anything in between, it's a easy grab-and-go speaker that's a total powerhouse for its size and price — especially now at just over $50.

I always assumed my home network was mostly talking to a handful of servers nearby, making the occasional overseas travel. But I probably wasn't fully aware of where my network was pinging to. Running TapMap for a week proved just how wrong I was—and how far my data actually travels.

Heart-pounding movies have been my crème de la crème. Whether their stories encompass the rise and fall of a ruthless empire, the fractured reality of memory, the chaos of conflict, or the reckless thrill of real-life crime, there’s no shortage of lingering entertainment.

The open earbuds market is one of the fastest-expanding audio categories of 2026, and a new budget contender just entered the space.

Meet the Baseus Bowie MC2 earbuds, officially available as of June 1. Priced at $79.99, they're one of the most affordable open models on the market. (Keep reading to learn about their discounted launch price.)

Despite their lower price point, Baseus seeks to blend solid sound quality, innovative comfort, and a battery life that bests earbud options over triple the price of the MC2s. So how do they stack up? While I don't have a full review just yet, I've spent a few days with the newest open earbuds and have some early thoughts.

Opens in a new window Credit: Baseus Baseus Bowie MC2 $49.99 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $30.00 Save $30 with code MC2OWSPR Get Deal

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Baseus Bowie MC2: Price and specs

As mentioned above, the Baseus Bowie MC2 earbuds are available now for $79.99, with a special launch price of $49.99 if you use the coupon code MC2OWSPR at checkout. For the price, these earbuds come loaded with:

• Battery: 11.5 hours with Bass Boost (55 hours in case) or 13 hours without Bass Boost (60 hours in case)

• Driver: 11mm dynamic

• Microphones: 8 microphones, plus two bone conduction sensors

• Connection: Bluetooth 6.0

• Codec: SBC, AAC, LDAC

• Multipoint: Yes, up to two devices simultaneously

• IP rating: IP67

• Ear cushion sizes: M, L, XL

• Colors: Cosmic black, stellar white, deep sea blue

Baseus Bowie MC2: First impressions The Baseus earbuds comes with three sizes of silicone ear covers so you can find the best fit possible. Credit: Baseus

For most people, the draw of open earbuds comes from what they can offer you while you're out and about in the world. The awareness open earbuds provide is generally better than any transparency mode you'll find on traditional earbuds, giving the user the flexibility to listen to music in the park or go for a jog around your city without feeling totally shut out from the world around you.

With that in mind, the Bowie MC2 earbuds make a strong initial case for themselves on a few fronts.

Impressive battery life

If I can listen to music while staying aware of the world around, chances are I'll be keeping my earbuds in and powered on for much of the day. Baseus accounts for this in its battery life, offering an impressive 13 hours per charge, or 11.5 with Bass Boost on. In my experience so far, Bass Boost is pretty essential for getting the best sound quality, even if you're a non-bass head. Otherwise, the music can sound too distant.

To put things into perspective, the only other pair of open earbuds I've encountered with comparable battery life are the Shokz OpenFit Pro, which get 12 hours per charge and 50 hours in the case. They're also $250.

Interchangeable ear covers for maximizing comfort

Most times with budget earbuds, I don't expect a ton of innovation, but with the Bowie MC2, Baseus introduces a feature I've never seen on open earbuds — interchangeable ear covers, which the brand calls CloudComfort 2.0 cushions.

The soft silicone covers are comfortable, but the sizing is somewhat limited. The earbuds come set up with the medium size, but you'll find large and extra-large covers in the box. I tried the larges because out of the box, the earbuds felt a tiny bit loose on me compared to other cuff-style earbuds I've tried. However, I found the larger cover to fit even less securely.

I'm anticipating that this might be due to the size of the band that wraps around the ear, which is also larger than I've encountered on other earbuds. I imagine this is in the service of providing a more comfortable fit, but I've never found smaller bands to be too snug before. In my testing, I'll be looking at how this looser fit works in an exercise context — though I hope it works well, as the IP67 rating could make these earbuds a great pair of workout earbuds.

Their budget earbud competition

At $79.99 (and $50 on sale), these earbuds offer potentially excellent value, especially in a landscape where many of the more popular open earbuds from major audio brands can set you back $200 or more.

The only real competition I see are the EarFun Clip earbuds, which cost $69.99 at full price and are frequently on sale for under $50. Similar to the Baseus earbuds, they have LDAC support, Bluetooth 6.0, and are just behind the Baseus buds in terms of battery life, offering 10 hours per charge and 40 hours in the case.

Baseus Bowie MC2: Where to buy

The Baseus Bowie MC2 earbuds are available now at Amazon for a special launch price of $49.99 when you use the code MC2OWSPR. The code is valid through July 31.

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Windows 11’s latest update has finally introduced ‘Haptic Signals’, a feature that enhances the UI experience of the operating system. Haptic feedback in a laptop trackpad is not a pioneering feat, since Apple brought it to its MacBooks all the way back in 2015. Ever since, Apple has been tweaking and improving the feature.

Your router is essentially a tiny, underpowered computer optimized to handle a wide variety of tasks, such as Wi-Fi management, routing, DHCP, and, of course, DNS forwarding. Although routers are impressively efficient for their size and price, they're still working with extremely limited resources, so the more work you can offload to other devices, the more resources the router has for other tasks.

For years, streaming services were my go-to choice for music in the car, since they gave me the ability to listen to whatever music I want whenever I want. However, over time, I've also become disillusioned with the fact that I don't actually own any of the music I was listening to. I also realized that I've spent more than $1000 on streaming subscriptions over the years with nothing to show for it.

Apple's oft-rumored smart glasses probably aren't coming this year.

A new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the glasses are planned for "late 2027," with the reason being unspecified development roadblocks.

Just last month, Gurman said Apple was working on four different designs for its smart glasses, with a planned unveiling in late 2026 and a launch in 2027.

SEE ALSO: Apple's new, smarter Siri could look like this

Apple still considers the smart glasses, which would be a direct competitor to the Meta Ray-Bans, a very important part of its future lineup, according to Gurman's latest report. The devices will likely have cameras for capturing photos and videos, as well as microphones and speakers for phone calls and music. AI integration and health-related features should be big selling points, too.

Design-wise, Apple is reportedly looking into four different variants: One with a larger, rectangular frame (think Ray-Ban Wayfarers), one with a slimmer rectangular design, and two oval designs, one larger and one smaller. Color options that Apple is said to be looking into include light brown, ocean blue, and black.

As for the price, Gurman has a range, but it's not very precise: They could cost anywhere between $200 and $500 in the U.S.

As far as the also-rumored, cheaper version of the company's Vision Pro mixed reality headset goes, that's probably not coming until 2028 or even 2029, wrote Gurman.

There’s a particular frustration that hits when you run out of Claude tokens mid-project—and Anthropic is more than happy to sell you a $100 or $200 plan to solve that. But chances are, the problem isn’t that you use Claude more—it’s that you use it inefficiently.

Netflix ended May on a high note with several hit movies that debuted in the streamer's top 10. The Crash, a stunning documentary about a tragic accident, remains the No. 1 movie on the service. For something lighter in tone, try Ladies First, a satirical comedy starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike.

Euphoria Season 3 came to a fittingly dramatic close on Sunday, but did we just watch the end of the season, or the end of the show itself?

Given the massive time jump between Seasons 2 and 3, you could be forgiven for thinking that more seasons of writer, director, and creator Sam Levinson's show wouldn't be out of the question in future.

But when asked, the man himself seems pretty definitive with his answer.

SEE ALSO: 'Euphoria' actor has surprisingly funny reaction to being almost completely cut from the show Will there be a Euphoria Season 4?

Levinson appeared on the New York Times' Popcast podcast shortly after the release of the Euphoria finale, and was asked directly whether there would be more episodes.

"In terms of the story that we set out to tell, which is a story about addiction and its consequences, this feels like the end to me," Levinson told NYT reporter Joe Coscarelli and critic Jon Caramanica. "It was such a fulfilling journey in terms of this cast, the crew, what we were able to accomplish...I mean, there's thousands of things that have to go right in order to make something like this, and I'm just immensely proud of the work we did, the story we told, and, you know, it's a tragic one in the end, but it's also the truth."

"This feels like the end" doesn't feel like a definitive answer, but fortunately Coscarelli followed up by asking again if Euphoria ends here.

"Yep," responded Levinson. "I mean what else is there to say?"

Well, that sounds pretty final. HBO reportedly also confirmed Levinson's announcement to Variety, which gives it further weight. Mashable has reached out to HBO for further comment.

UPDATE: Jun. 1, 2026, 12:56 p.m. HBO had no additional statement, but confirmed that "Euphoria" has ended.

Euphoria Season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max.