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Pedro Pascal is always good value in any interview, and not even strange opinions from radio callers can change that.

In the clip above the Last of Us/The Mandalorian and Grogu star sits down opposite BBC Radio One host Greg James for a game of "Unpopular Opinion", which involves responding to callers who make statements such as "Living in a post-apocalyptic world sounds fun!" and "I enjoy having athlete's foot!"

Pascal is hesitant to offer an unpopular opinion of his own, but he does strongly agree with Ryan Gosling's recent defence of the UK's fox population, which ultimately leads to him defending the world's rat population ("I saw Ratatouille and I loved it, and ever since then I've loved rats").

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Vote for your favourite creator today!

Apple's Camera app on the iPhone is getting a lot more customizable in iOS 27.

This is according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who procured some of the details of what's coming to the Camera app and Siri in Apple's next major iOS release.

Perhaps the most interesting new feature in the Camera app will be widgets. The Camera app interface will be fully customizable, and users will be able to pick their own set of controls on top of the interface.

While the default controls in Camera will remain the same (Night Mode, Flash, and Live Photos toggle, as well as the format and resolution picker), an "advanced" set of options will also be available. If you're not happy with either option, you'll be able to choose the items that you want to see up there.

The menu item that shows all available options will be moved from the top right to a new place next to the camera shutter button, presumably to make it more noticeable.

Furthermore, each capture mode will have its own set of widgets; for example, Photo mode will have depth-of-field and exposure controls.

Finally, the Camera app is also getting a new Siri mode, which will focus on Apple's Visual Intelligence smarts, including features like translating text or identifying plants.

SEE ALSO: Siri’s big Google upgrade: What iPhone fans are waiting for

While on the topic of Siri, we know that an overhaul is coming, but the report has a few more details on what the new Siri will look like. This includes new positioning in the Dynamic Island (so much for the rumors that the Dynamic Island is going away in new phones), a new system-wide search that's activating by swiping down from the top center of the screen, a new chatbot conversation mode, and AI-powered search of the open web.

The report also reiterates previous reports that Siri will, for the first time, become a standalone app in iOS 27, and that it will have a history of your previous interactions.

Finally, the report has some details on what's coming in other Apple apps. The Weather app is getting a new "Conditions" panel on the main page for a location, allowing you to switch between data on temperature, rain, and wind. Image Playground has been "completely redesigned," and will be able to create more lifelike images. Other changes include redo and undo controls for customizing the home screen, and a new animation for the on-screen keyboard.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 13, 2026

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for May 13, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 13 Pips

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 5-0, placed horizontally.

Number (25): Everything in this space must add up to 25. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 6-5, placed vertically; 5-0, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 2-3, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 13 Pips

Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 1-0, placed vertically.

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically; 2-1, placed vertically; 1-0, placed vertically; 1-5, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally.

Number (13): Everything in this purple space must add up to 13. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically; 2-4, placed vertically; 5-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 4-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 5-6, placed horizontally; 4-6, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 13 Pips

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 3-5, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-0, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 2-0, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-2, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 3-2, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-0, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 5-0, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically.

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

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will require some sports and pop culture knowledge.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Training arc

• Green: Playing in Utah

• Blue: GOAT skippers

• Purple: Golf card

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Hone One's Skills

• Green: Utah Teams

• Blue: Hall of Fame Baseball Managers

• Purple: Starts with a Gold Scoring Term

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #597 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Hone One's Skills: EXERCISE, PRACTICE, TRAIN, WORK OUT

• Utah Teams: JAZZ, MAMMOTH, ROYALS, UTES

• Hall of Fame Baseball Managers: LEYLAND, MACK, STENGEL, WEAVER

• Starts with a Gold Scoring Term: ACELA, BOGEYMAN, EAGLE-EYED, PARADISE

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

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

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Board dysfunction rarely starts with a major conflict. More often, it develops through repeated behaviors that slow decisions, weaken trust, and drain focus. To keep discussions productive, you need to intervene early. Set clear expectations. Directors often have different assumptions about preparation, participation, and debate. Establish shared standards for how meetings should run, and reinforce […]

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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.

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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

Not yesterday.

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

TODAY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Uncertainty.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 13, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

LIMBO

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A couch.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 13 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 13, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

FUTON

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Brown sauce.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

GRAVY

Final Hurdle hint

Routine.

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

HABIT

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

We knew Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI's co-founders would cause fireworks when it came to trial. When Sam Altman took the stand, as the OpenAI CEO did Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Oakland, California, we knew he'd face allegations of being less than truthful.

We didn't know, however, that Altman would deploy a memory of Elon Musk showing off his favorite memes, to surprisingly strategic effect. Or that a "crossed fingers" emoji would gain new meaning.

Or, in probably the most dramatic moment of the trial, Altman would be confronted over whether he lied to the Senate when he said he had no financial stake in OpenAI.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about Elon Musk's OpenAI testimony

Here are the four most memorable claims in a most consequential day in court:

1. Musk 'demotivated' OpenAI — and wanted it for himself

Altman first faced friendly questioning from OpenAI's lawyers, which allowed him to present his side of the narrative. This was his opportunity to tell the story of the ChatGPT maker's crucial early years, and how Musk contributed — which is to say, how much of a threat Musk's participation was to the nascent nonprofit.

"I don't think Mr. Musk understood how to run a good research lab," Altman said. "He had demotivated some of our most key researchers." How? By getting his co-founders to rank them by their accomplishments — known in Silicon Valley as "stack ranking" — then taking "a chainsaw" to the lower-ranked researchers.

In other words, the same play Musk used at Twitter, before it was X, in 2023, and at DOGE in 2025 — a practice so linked to him, he was literally presented with a chainsaw. "That did huge damage for a long time to the culture of the organization," Altman added.

Despite Musk being a "fairly mercurial" co-founder, Altman said, he was also interested in securing OpenAI for himself — or his heirs. In one "hair-raising moment," Altman said, Musk mused on whether "maybe OpenAI should pass to my children" if he died.

2. Musk was more interested in 'memes' than OpenAI's future

Altman then testified that he kept Musk fully updated on the company even after Musk left in 2018. But Musk was far from concerned about how OpenAI would fund the massive compute required, Altman said.

Altman described a 2018 meeting with Musk about the Microsoft funding Musk now says he abhors. But at the time, Musk was unusually full of "good vibes," Altman said, and had "a long, long conversation showing us memes on his phone."

The court's stenographer evidently had a hard time understanding Altman's use of "memes," which led to one of the most unintentionally humorous moments of the trial:

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The aforementioned emoji followed shortly after, and it too has a surprising amount of bearing on this case.

Altman narrated an email he'd written to Shivon Zillis, a former OpenAI employee with whom Musk has a romantic relationship and two children, that shows he was concerned how Musk would receive the Microsoft investment.

"Hopefully it's easy," he told Zillis, adding "crossed fingers emoji" for emphasis. And if Altman is to be believed, it was.

But therein lies the question that dominated the afternoon in court: is Altman to be believed?

3. 'Are you completely trustworthy?'

That was how Steven Molo, Musk's attorney, opened his cross examination of Altman. "I believe I'm a truthful person," Altman responded.

Molo tried to nail Altman down on the objective truth of his trustworthiness. But Altman wasn't biting, sticking only to what he said he "believes" about his own statements.

Molo also tried to get Altman on the record about a devastating profile of him, written by Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker, the gist of which is that Altman is a serial liar who was fired by OpenAI's board in 2023 for that reason.

But Altman's lawyer objected, the judge sustained the objection, and Molo was only able to alert the jury to the article's existence.

4. Altman's OpenAI stake under scrutiny

Molo was more successful when he suggested that Altman was being slippery about his financial stake — and not just in OpenAI.

Musk's attorney showed a slide with a list of companies that OpenAI does business with and that Altman had investments in, including Reddit. Some of the companies were acquired by OpenAI.

But that suggestion of self-dealing paled next to what Altman admitted next, for the first time ever: he has equity in OpenAI, albeit an indirect stake via the Silicon Valley startup incubator he used to run, YCombinator.

As Molo and online observers were quick to note, that appears to contradict Altman's sworn testimony in the U.S. Senate in 2023. "I have no equity in OpenAI," Altman told GOP Senator John Kennedy, insisting that he was only "paid enough for health insurance."

At the time, Kennedy offered some friendly advice to help the apparently selfless OpenAI chief get his due. "You need a lawyer," he told Altman.

Given that GOP members of the House Oversight Committee just launched a probe into Altman's financial dealings, Kennedy's advice hits different in 2026. Even after this trial is over, Altman's lawyers will have their work cut out for them.

The Department of War (DOW) and the ODNI have begun a historic effort to review and release tens of millions of records regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). Watch the newly released videos of unidentified flying objects.

TL;DR: SignIt’s lifetime subscription is available for $79 (reg. $819), offering unlimited document signing, AI-powered field detection, and secure e-signature tools with no recurring fees.

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SignIt is built for anyone who frequently sends contracts, onboarding forms, agreements, or other paperwork that requires signatures. Instead of monthly fees just to keep workflows moving, this one-time purchase unlocks unlimited document signing and unlimited signers — no recurring payments required.

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One of the more useful features is the built-in AI assistant, Nova, which automatically detects where signatures, initials, and dates should go within a document. That cuts down on the manual setup involved in preparing paperwork, especially if you’re handling a larger volume of files. It also helps simplify the signing process for recipients. Guided signing flows walk users through each required step, reducing missed fields and unnecessary back-and-forth.

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TL;DR: Lyra Project Management is on sale for $99 (reg. $1,054) and includes lifetime access for up to 10 users with unlimited projects, sprint planning, and AI-powered tools.

Opens in a new window Credit: YaseenAI, Inc. Lyra Project Management Unlimited Plan (10 Users): Lifetime Subscription $99
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Keeping projects in order across spreadsheets, chat apps, calendars, and task boards can get disorganized and cluttered fast — especially as deadlines creep up. Lyra Project Management is a tool that brings all of that together in one place, so teams can plan, track, and collaborate all in one place.

Right now, the Lyra Project Management Unlimited Plan is available for $99 (reg. $1,054). The lifetime subscription covers up to 10 users and supports unlimited projects, making it appealing to startups, agencies, freelancers, and growing teams looking to avoid another monthly software bill.

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Lyra includes several ways to manage projects depending on how your team likes to work. You can organize tasks with Kanban boards, Gantt charts, calendars, spreadsheet-style layouts, or traditional lists. The platform also supports cycles and sprint planning, which are among its biggest differentiators for development teams and structured project timelines.

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StackSocial prices subject to change.

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

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You can read our original report below.

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

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

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

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

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

This is a developing story...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: The fierce battle over AI in schools

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meet the Googlebook Here it is. Credit: Google

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

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

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

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

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

Android Auto gets some improvements Looks good! Credit: Google

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

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

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

Gemini Intelligence comes to Android

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

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

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

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

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

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

New tools for creators

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

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

Chrome for Android gets a boost

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

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

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