Blogroll

Someone drove a Tesla Cybertruck into a lake to test Wade Mode. It didnt end well.

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 09:12

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says a lot of silly things.

For example, he said that Tesla's steel-plated, but not fully steel-ball-resistant Cybertruck is "apocalypse-level safe." He also said that "Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy."

Well, one guy apparently took that seriously, and tested it out with his Cybertruck in Grapevine Lake, an 8,000-acre lake northwest of Dallas, Texas.

Now, he's in jail.

SEE ALSO: The Apple iPhone 17 is free right now with T-Mobile — how to claim this week

According to Grapevine Police's official account on Facebook, "The driver stated he intentionally drove into the lake to use the Cybertruck’s “Wade Mode” feature. The vehicle became disabled and took on water. The driver and passengers abandoned the vehicle and the Grapevine Fire Department Water Rescue Team assisted in removing it from the lake. The driver was arrested on charges of Operation of Vehicle in Closed Section of Park/Lake and numerous water safety equipment violations."

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Tesla's official documentation for Wade Mode says it "allows Cybertruck to enter and drive through bodies of water, such as rivers or creeks," but it also says that "The maximum wade depth is approximately 32 in. (815 mm) measuring from the bottom of the tire."

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It doesn't help, however, that Musk himself once tweeted that the Cybertruck "needs be able to get from Starbase to South Padre Island, which requires crossing the channel." We checked, and that's roughly 400m of distance, if going through the Brazos Santiago Pass. According to Wikipedia, the water depth there is 42 feet, which is a lot more than 32 inches. In other words, no, the Cybertruck cannot safely get from Starbase to South Padre Island.

SEE ALSO: Tesla recalls 219,000 cars over rearview camera bug

This is not the first time someone drove their Cybertruck into a body of water and got stuck. It's a horrible idea, it will probably void the warranty (per Tesla's documentation), and someone might get seriously injured. Do not do this, ever.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed review: The power of Tatiana Maslany makes this thriller a must-watch

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 09:00

Cam boy scammers. Piles of dead bodies. A sinister conspiracy.

From these elements alone, you might think Apple TV's Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is a salacious crime caper. That's not entirely off, but it's so, so much more thanks to the person who stumbles onto all these dirty secrets: newly divorced mother Paula Sanders (Tatiana Maslany).

SEE ALSO: Everything coming to Apple TV in 2026 What's Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed about? Tatiana Maslany and Brandon Flynn in "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed." Credit: Apple TV

When we first meet Paula, she's nearing the end of her tether. She and her ex Karl (Jake Johnson) are on the verge of a custody battle over their daughter Hazel (Nola Wallace). On top of that, she's finishing up a grueling apartment move, and her boss at her fact-checking job seems allergic to giving her a promotion.

With all this stress weighing on her, Paula seeks companionship and release with cam boy Trevor (Brandon Flynn). Their virtual conversations primarily focus on getting each other off, but they go deeper than that. Paula regularly tells Trevor her frustrations with Karl and her job. Between her candor and his understanding responses, you might think their intimacy goes deeper than physicality.

Then Trevor gets kidnapped during one of their calls.

SEE ALSO: 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' review: If this is the future of Star Wars, I don't want it

From there, Paula must face one of two unsettling realities. Either she just witnessed a bloody crime, or Trevor is pulling a scam on her, meaning their connection was just a means to an end. For a woman whose entire life is in flux, neither option is reassuring. So begins Paula's independent investigation into the truth, the sordid details of which clash with her personal life in a relentless spiral of blackmail and violence.

What follows is a dizzying, adrenaline-fueled ride. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed careens from dark comedy to crime thriller to custody drama, sometimes over the course of a single scene. Frantic jump cuts and Wynne Bennett's pounding techno score throw viewers into Paula's stressed state of mind, while grisly cliffhangers keep the gasps rolling in. Anchoring it all is Maslany's magnificent performance as Paula.

Tatiana Maslany kills it in Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. Tatiana Maslany in "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed." Credit: Apple TV

If you've watched any of Maslany's performances — her Emmy-winning clone work in Orphan Black, her devilishly funny turn in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, her smaller but unforgettable role in The Monkey — then you should know to expect excellence from her. She delivers that and then some in Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.

As Paula's hunt for the truth gets underway, her life splinters in two. There's the part of her that is investigating strangers' houses and buying a gun for protection. Then there's the part of her that's trying to make life as normal as possible for Hazel post-divorce.

Maslany excels in both modes, bringing physical comedy to everything from jumping off roofs to goofy mother-daughter TikTok dances. But it's when the two halves of her life collapse into one another that she really shines. A ticking time bomb of rage and desperation, Maslany makes sure Paula's anxieties are never far from the surface. Occasionally, they burst out in fierce monologues directed at coworkers or lawyers or detectives. Even then, though, Maslany pulls back, as Paula is abundantly aware that any emotional outburst from her could backfire on her chances of keeping custody of Hazel.

Yes, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is filled to the brim with intense plot twists and juicy conspiracies. But the most maddening aspect of the series is the judgment placed on Paula as a mother. When Karl finds out about her chats with Trevor, his immediate reaction is to use them against her in court — and he's far from the only one who hopes to punish her for acting on her desire. No wonder Paula feels like her whole life is chaos. Like every mother, she's expected to do it all: Coach her daughter's soccer team, host pizza parties, and look put-together the whole time. The one moment she tries to do something for herself, it backfires, and everyone judges her for it. Meanwhile, does Karl get flamed for his prior infidelity? Of course not. Maslany walks the tightrope of Paula's anger at that double standard and her reluctant adherence to it spectacularly.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed surrounds the fraying Paula with an impressive ensemble, ranging from oddballs to downright menaces. Flynn is a slippery fantasy as Trevor, while The White Lotus' Murray Bartlett shows off how scary he can be as a sinister fixer. Elsewhere, Johnson and Jessy Hodges bring buttoned-up maliciousness to Karl and his new wife Mallory. Rounding out the crew are two very different pairs. There's the no-nonsense, sports betting fanatic Detective Gonzalez (Dolly de Leon) and her sweet partner Detective Baxter (Jon Michael Hill), as well as Paula's snarky but deeply invested coworkers Rudy (Charlie Hall) and Geri (Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg). Both pairs' dynamics allow for some offbeat breaks from Paula's panic, further fleshing out the show's freewheeling genre tendencies.

Of course, though, it's Paula's show through and through. Maslany and series creator David J. Rosen have crafted a compelling trainwreck of a character, one whom you'll want to follow to the ends of the earth — or at the very least, the end of 10 pulse-pounding episodes.

The first two episodes of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed are now streaming on Apple TV, with a new episode every Wednesday.

Categories: IT General, Technology

NYT Pips hints, answers for May 20, 2026

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 07:54

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 20, 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 20, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 19 Pips

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally.

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

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 2-0, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 19 Pips

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed vertically.

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

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed horizontally.

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

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed horizontally.

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

Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 19 Pips

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this must add up to 0. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically; 0-2, placed vertically; 0-1, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this must add up to 2. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally; 1-4, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this must add up to 7. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally; 3-2, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 0-2, placed vertically; 2-2, placed horizontally; 3-2, placed vertically.

Number (12): Everything in this space must add up to 12. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically; 6-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically; 6-4, placed horizontally; 4-5, placed vertically.

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically.

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

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

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically; 6-2, placed vertically; 3-4, 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.

Categories: IT General, Technology

NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 20, 2026

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 07:20

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: Scoring an extra point

  • Green: Olympic cities

  • Blue: Minor league ball

  • Purple: Has a QB inside

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

  • Yellow: Actions on a Field Goal Attempt

  • Green: U.S. Olympic Host Cities

  • Blue: Triple-A Baseball Teams

  • Purple: Ends in an NFL QB

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 #604 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
  • Actions on a Field Goal Attempt: BLOCK, HOLD, KICK, SNAP

  • U.S. Olympic Host Cities: ATLANTA, LOS ANGELES, SALT LAKE CITY, ST. LOUIS

  • Triple-A Baseball Teams: BATS, EXPRESS, IRONPIGS, JUMBO SHRIMP

  • Ends in an NFL QB: CLOVE, FALLEN, PHOENIX, SQUIDWARD

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 the latest Connections.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Eliminate False Alignment on Your Team

Havard Management Tip of the Day - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 06:01

When change efforts stall, the problem often isn’t a lack of strategy—it’s a lack of true alignment. Teams move forward assuming everyone shares the same priorities, only to discover conflicting expectations later. To avoid that trap, focus on creating clarity before execution begins.  Set clear parameters. Define the exact decisions that need to be made, who will make them, and how […]

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Categories: Management

Hurdle hints and answers for May 20, 2026

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 06:00

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

To brush.

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

SWEEP

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Awesome.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 20, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

SUPER

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Hurdle Word 3 hint

Dusty.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 20 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 20, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

SANDY

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Wood.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

CEDAR

Final Hurdle hint

Overused.

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

BANAL

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

Categories: IT General, Technology

Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on May 20

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 06:00

The Moon is beginning to brighten again on its right-hand side, although only a thin crescent will be visible tonight, but it's enough to give keen skywatchers a glimpse of some Moon features.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Wednesday, May 20, the Moon phase is Waxing Crescent. Tonight, 17% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

After nights of darkness, there's finally enough of the Moon illuminated to begin making out some of its surface features again. For example, without any visual aids, you'll be able to spot the Mares Crisium and Fecunditatis. Binoculars or a telescope will also bring the Endymion Crater into view.

When is the next Full Moon?

There are two Full Moons in May, with the next due to take place on May 31.

What are Moon phases?

According to NASA, the Moon takes around 29.5 days to orbit Earth completely, passing through eight phases during that time. While the same side of the Moon always faces Earth, the way sunlight hits its surface changes throughout its orbit, creating the familiar full, half, and crescent appearances we see in the night sky. Altogether, the lunar cycle consists of eight main phases:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Every new tool and AI model from Google I/O you can try for free

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 00:37

Google just announced a smorgasbord of new AI tools for productivity and creativity at its Google I/O keynote on Tuesday, but not many of them are available for free right now.

I/O was huge for Gemini superusers, as the flashiest new features are all rolling out to paying members right now. Even Google AI Plus and Pro users will miss out on some of them. That makes sense from a business and AI safety perspective — test new tools with your most engaged power users, then roll them out widely — but it does make things a bit less exciting for the average Google user.

Fear not, though, because there actually were a few new tools announced on Tuesday that you can use right away, and without dropping a single cent. Let's talk about them.

SEE ALSO: Google I/O 2026 live updates: See the latest reveals, including Gemini, Android XR, more Gemini 3.5 Flash

The biggest news out of Google I/O? The immediate launch of Gemini 3.5 Flash, the new default model for the Gemini app and Google Search.

If you want to try it, it's as simple as just opening the Gemini app or using Google AI Mode. Google says Gemini 3.5 Flash is faster than other models and can better handle complex agentic tasks, all while using tokens more efficiently. And yes, it can help with vibe coding. This one's easy to try, as Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default Gemini model for everyone. Go check it out.

Gemini Omni Flash for YouTube Shorts and Create

First up is Gemini Omni Flash, a new world model. While it only generates video for now, it can simulate physics and draw from Gemini's real-world knowledge, resulting in more accurate environments. Beyond that, Omni Flash videos can be edited via conversational dialogue with the app, so if you want to change the background of a shot, you can just tell it to do that.

Eventually, Omni will be a fully multimodal world model in terms of both inputs and outputs. At launch, you can use text, images, videos, or audio as the basis for creation, rather than just text. Omni Flash will be available later this week for YouTube Shorts and in the YouTube Create app for all users, for free.

SynthID in Chrome and Google Search Credit: Google / YouTUbe

Tired of not being able to tell if something was generated with AI? Thanks to some new developments with Google Search and Chrome, that should become a lot easier.

During I/O, Google announced that Chrome and Search will now have the ability to use SynthID (an invisible digital watermark on AI-generated content, created at the point of generation) to detect AI content. All you have to to is right-click on an image or use Circle to Search, at which point it will let you know if any part of the image was made with AI — at least, that's the idea.

Part of this announcement was that several third-party entities, including OpenAI, have also adopted SynthID, so it should be even more widespread than ever.

Neural Expressive in the Gemini app Credit: Google

Finally, Google introduced a new visual design language for Gemini. While it's not technically a tool, you can try it for free right away in the Gemini desktop and mobile app. The new design language uses more vibrant colors, new haptic feedback, and fluid animations. Google says it also integrates Gemini Live, the app's live voice mode, directly into the core experience.

Google Pics Google Pics is coming this summer. Credit: Google

Google also teased the upcoming launch of Google Pics, which will be available in Workspace apps like Google Docs and Keep. It's a Canva-like tool for creating images, flyers, and similar visual presentations. It's all powered by Google AI, of course, so you can take advantage of Gemini intelligence and Nano Banana image generation.

Unfortunately, Google Pics won't be available for free, with one exception. If you have a Google Workspace business account through your employer, you'll be able to try Pics without paying anything yourself.

Categories: IT General, Technology

All the Gemini announcements from Google I/O 2026

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 00:21

The Google I/O 2026 keynote is now in the books, and Google had a lot to share. The entire keynote event lasted nearly two hours and was full of new product and feature announcements.

With all that was unveiled at I/O, AI was clearly Google's focus, with news about Gemini taking center stage.

Here's everything Google announced about Gemini at I/O 2026.

Gemini 3.5 Google CEO Sundar Pichai introduces Gemini 3.5 Flash at Google I/O 2026. Credit: Google / YouTube

Google announced a new family of AI models, Gemini 3.5, at I/O 2026. The first model to launch is Gemini 3.5 Flash, with Gemini 3.5 Pro rolling out next month.

According to Google, Gemini 3.5 Flash is four times faster than other frontier models in output tokens per second (TPS), which measures a model's response time. Google says it also outperforms most frontier models on key benchmarks, including Gemini 3.1 Pro.

During the keynote, Google announced that Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default model powering the Gemini app and Google search's AI Mode.

Gemini Omni Omni is the new world model from Google DeepMind. Credit: Google

Gemini 3.5 wasn't the only new family of models announced at I/O 2026. Google also announced Gemini Omni, a new world model. At the end of the keynote, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis described Omni as a pivotal step toward artificial general intelligence, or AGI.

The first model in the family, Gemini Omni Flash, was showcased at the event.

According to Google, unlike text-to-video AI models, Gemini Omni is multi-modal in both input and output. Users can input text, audio, images, and video into the model when crafting their prompt and, utilizing Gemini's "real-world knowledge," Omni will generate realistic and scientifically accurate content.

Gemini Omni Flash rolls out today to paid Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers within the Gemini app and Google Flow. Gemini Omni Flash will also launch in YouTube Shorts and the YouTube Create app at no cost to users later this week.

Gemini Spark

Gemini Spark is easily the most ambitious product revealed at I/O. Google is calling Spark "your personal AI agent" and integrates with Google's suite of products, and eventually with more than 30 third-party tools via MCP, such as Adobe, Dropbox, and Uber.

Acting as an AI agent, Spark can pull together relevant emails from your inbox and files from Docs in order to craft an update for your boss. 

Notably, Spark runs entirely within the cloud and doesn't require any hardware.

Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. will see Gemini Spark roll out inside Gmail and Chat in the next week. 

Google AI subscription changes Google's new AI subscription tiers. Credit: Google

Speaking of the Google AI Ultra subscription, the company announced that it's lowering the starting price for its Ultra subscription to $200 per month and introducing a lower-cost $99 per month Ultra tier.

Previously, users had to pay a whopping $250 per month to access the latest Gemini features such as AI Inbox.

Neural Expressive Credit: Google

Finally, the Gemini app is getting a new design language, which Google calls Neural Expressive. The new design language includes more fluid animations, haptic feedback, and vibrant colors, per Google. Neural Expressive also integrates the Gemini Live voice experience into the core UI, meaning users no longer have to switch back and forth.

Google says it's rolling out globally on Gemini's desktop, Android, and iOS apps.

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Categories: IT General, Technology

John Krasinski's Jack Ryan is back on Prime Video—but this time as a movie

How-To Geek - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 00:15

It's only been about three years since Jack Ryan ended its television run on Prime Video. However, the former CIA analyst returns to the streaming service in the brand-new movie, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War. The movie premieres on Prime Video on Wednesday, May 20, at 3 a.m. ET in the U.S.

Categories: IT General, Technology

4 awesome new HBO Max shows to add thrills to your week (May 19-24)

How-To Geek - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 00:00

If you're an HBO Max subscriber in the U.S. who's been spending your evenings cycling through the same rewatches—The Pitt, White Lotus, or letting Last Week Tonight drone in the background while you pretend to fold laundry—then I've got a few suggestions to run by you.

Categories: IT General, Technology

The Hisense 75-inch E7 Cinema Series TV is over $500 off ahead of Memorial Day — buy for $749.99 at Amazon

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 00:00

SAVE $550: As of May 19, the Hisense 75-inch E7 Cinema Series is on sale for $749.99 at Amazon. That's a 42% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 75-inch E7 Cinema Series $749.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $550   Get Deal

With the World Cup just a few weeks away, now is the perfect time to upgrade. And to sweeten the deal, Amazon has a wide range of TVs discounted in its Memorial Day sale, including the Hisense 75-inch E7 Cinema Series. As of May 19, you can save $550 on this stunning TV, with a new price of $749.99.

This is a truly great TV that uses Hi-QLED MiniLED technology to improve your viewing experience. It supports Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive, HDR10, and HLG, as well as Dolby Atmos audio for a more immersive sound. The TV also features 4K Ultra HD resolution with AI upscaling that helps to improve lower-resolution content. For example, it helps older shows and movies appear clearer and more detailed.

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For gaming and sports, it has a native 144Hz refresh rate and AI Smooth Motion with MEMC. These help to keep fast-moving content looking sharp by reducing blur and improving motion clarity. And that's not the only AI feature. The AI Picture processing tool automatically adjusts brightness, contrast, and color of scenes, depending on the type of content being watched.

There's also the AI Light Sensor that adapts screen brightness based on the lighting in the room. AI Sports Mode can also recognize sports content and adjust both picture and sound settings.

Get this TV deal at Amazon in time for the World Cup.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Bring classic Microsoft Office apps to your Mac without subscriptions for just $45

Mashable - Wed, 05/20/2026 - 00:00

TL;DR: Work smarter, not harder with some help from this lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021, on sale for $44.97 (reg. $219) now through May 31.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime License $44.97
$219 Save $174.03   Get Deal

Devoted Mac users, listen up. Just because you prefer Apple products doesn’t mean you have to miss out on one of the greatest ones Microsoft has to offer. This lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 gives users permanent access to six helpful apps for just $44.97 — less than $8 each — now through May 31.

Mac lovers can experience the best of Microsoft with this Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 license. It takes away the need for expensive monthly subscriptions to Microsoft 365 and lets you own six powerful Office apps with one low payment.

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This license is linked to your Microsoft account and allows you to install this suite on your Mac for life. It includes the Microsoft Office staples people have relied on for decades at home and work — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Aside from these classics, you’ll also get permanent access to new favorites like OneNote, which helps streamline note-taking, and Teams, which keeps you connected to coworkers, friends, and family.

Make sure your device is running macOS 14 Sonoma, macOS 15 Sequoia, or macOS 26 Tahoe before you purchase. If you run into any issues, free customer service is available to help.

Outfit your go-to Apple device with a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021, now just $44.97 until May 31.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Forget Toyota—this Buick SUV quietly tops reliability rankings

How-To Geek - Tue, 05/19/2026 - 23:30

When most buyers start hunting for a reliable SUV, they usually end up looking at the same handful of Japanese models. The Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V have built such strong reputations over the years that plenty of people never even consider anything else.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Can Samsung and Gentle Monster finally make smart glasses cool?

Mashable - Tue, 05/19/2026 - 22:58

For years, smart glasses have existed in a kind of aesthetic purgatory: too techy for fashion people, too awkward for mainstream consumers, and often associated with the exact kind of guy who makes everyone in the coffee shop (or Pilates class) extremely uncomfortable. Even when tech bros promised that smart eyewear represented the future, the frames themselves rarely looked like something anyone actually wanted to wear outside a product demo.

That's why Google and Samsung's new collaboration with South Korean luxury eyewear label Gentle Monster feels notable. More than a tech announcement, the partnership signals a broader shift in how Silicon Valley is approaching wearable AI: by finally admitting that people care what these things look like.

Unveiled during Google I/O 2026, the collaboration marks the first public reveal of Google's Android XR smart glasses developed with Gentle Monster and Samsung. The glasses, arriving later this year, will feature built-in speakers, microphones, and a camera, allowing wearers to listen to music, take calls, snap photos, and interact with Google's Gemini AI assistant hands-free.

But the actual technology almost feels secondary to the pitch; these are smart glasses designed to be stylish first.

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Google and Samsung unveiled the first design from their intelligent eyewear collaboration with Gentle Monster. Credit: Samsung

And unlike earlier attempts at wearable tech, they actually look fashionable. The slim oval-shaped black frames and narrow tinted lenses lean fully into Gentle Monster's signature aesthetic: sleek, slightly futuristic, and unmistakably fashion-forward. Instead of looking like conspicuous gadgets, the glasses resemble the kind of Y2K-inspired eyewear already dominating runways, K-pop airport photos, and downtown street style. They feel less like a Silicon Valley prototype and more like a cool girl accessory. Expect celebs and creators to start styling these immediately.

Pricing remains a mystery — though given Gentle Monster's positioning in the luxury market, these likely won't be impulse-buy territory. The brand's regular eyewear already tends to hover between roughly $250 and $400, with some statement styles climbing even higher.

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"We believe that for intelligent eyewear to become part of people's daily lives, it first must be great eyewear," Juston Payne, senior director of product management for Android XR at Google, told fashion trade WWD. "Eyewear is very personal — it is part of how people project who they are to the world."

That sentiment represents a major departure from earlier generations of wearable tech, which often prioritized utility over aesthetics. Products like Google Glass became cultural punchlines partly because they looked alienating and conspicuously futuristic. Wearing them announced not just that you liked technology, but that you wanted everyone else to know it.

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Diane von Furstenberg wears a pair of limited-edition DVF | Made for Glass Google Inc. glasses in 2014. Credit: Scott Eells/Bloomberg via Getty Images Meta tech exec Andrew Bosworth wears a pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses in 2024. Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The newer generation of smart glasses has taken a different route. Meta found success with its Ray-Ban collaboration by embedding cameras and AI features into familiar silhouettes instead of reinventing eyewear entirely. Now Google appears to be pushing even further into fashion territory by partnering with a brand that already possesses cultural credibility beyond tech circles.

That credibility is exactly what made Gentle Monster such an inspired choice. Over the past decade, the Seoul-based label has become known for its experimental silhouettes, celebrity co-signs, and immersive retail spaces that feel more like art installations than optical stores. The brand’s oversized frames and sculptural designs have turned eyewear into a genuine fashion statement, embraced by K-pop idols like BLACKPINK's Jennie and Stray Kids' Felix, models, and fashion obsessives alike.

The Gentle Monster (left) and Warby Parker (right) Android XR smart glasses made in partnership with Google and Samsung. Credit: Samsung

Google clearly understands what Gentle Monster brings to the table. "We have admired Gentle Monster’s work for many years," Payne told WWD, praising the brand's "iconoclastic approach" and ability to create emotional experiences around eyewear.

And honestly, that emotional connection may be the missing ingredient smart glasses have needed all along. Consumers were never going to embrace AI eyewear if the frames made them feel self-conscious.

That's especially true as AI hardware increasingly moves from novelty gadgets to lifestyle accessories. Smart glasses aren't being marketed as replacements for phones anymore, but as seamless extensions of existing digital habits. Google says Gemini will work alongside users' phones and apps, allowing wearers to interact with information while remaining visually engaged with the world around them.

But functionality alone won't sell this category. Style will.

And for perhaps the first time, tech companies seem to understand that the future of wearable AI may depend less on convincing people that smart glasses are useful — and more on convincing people they look cool. The catch is that the more invisible and stylish the technology becomes, the easier it may be to overlook the privacy concerns built into it.

Looking for more Google I/O announcements? Follow the Mashable Google I/O live blog to see all of the latest news on Gemini, Chrome, and Android.

Categories: IT General, Technology

5 things my Raspberry Pi travel router can do that other travel routers can't

How-To Geek - Tue, 05/19/2026 - 22:37

Most off-the-shelf travel routers are only good for a handful of things. They can share a Wi-Fi network, run a VPN, and even share files. The travel router I built out of a Raspberry Pi can do everything a regular travel router can, but it can do almost anything else you can imagine. Here are 5 ways I've expanded what my travel router can do.

Categories: IT General, Technology

This Japanese luxury SUV is built to last decades—and won't cost a fortune to maintain

How-To Geek - Tue, 05/19/2026 - 22:30

Luxury SUVs are often associated with expensive repairs, complicated technology, and long-term ownership headaches. While many premium brands prioritize flashy performance and cutting-edge features, reliability can sometimes take a back seat. That’s why this Japanese luxury SUV continues to stand out in a segment where dependability is becoming increasingly rare.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Everything announced at the Google I/O 2026 keynote: AI, more AI, and smart glasses

Mashable - Tue, 05/19/2026 - 22:15

Google's I/O 2026 developer conference has finally wrapped, and the keynote was, truthfully, a bit of a snooze for non-developers. The headline Gemini news amounted to a half-step update in Gemini 3.5 Flash, with the word "agentic" getting a full workout.

Google is "building a new agentic era," as one executive put it on the stage. The big theme this year: let Gemini do the heavy lifting. Emails, dinner reservations, vacation planning, shopping — Gemini wants to be your everything solution. The twist is Google now wants it done autonomously, within limits, naturally.

Hardware was equally quiet. The most notable announcement was a pair of smart glasses the company is calling "audio glasses" — essentially Google's answer to Meta Ray-Bans, but leaning harder into style with collaborations from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. The goal seems to be making camera glasses that don't scream, "I am wearing camera glasses."

All told, it was a characteristically uneventful show — which, let's be honest, is basically the I/O keynote tradition at this point. But there was still plenty announced worth digging into, so here's the full rundown.

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Gemini 3.5 Flash is the new default model

Google launched the first model in the new Gemini 3.5 line today, and it's available now in the Gemini app and other Google AI products. Google execs said that a new flagship model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, would be coming in June.

Gemini 3.5 Flash beats most frontier models in benchmarks and token efficiency, according to Google. The company says it also surpasses Gemini 3.1 Pro in most respects. You can start using it right away at gemini.google.com.

Credit: Google Gemini Spark wants to run your life

The splashiest announcement of the keynote was Gemini Spark, a cloud-based AI agent that runs continuously in the background, handling tasks while you're busy doing everything else. As I wrote during its announcement, it's possibly the most ambitious thing Google has put on stage in a while. At least, the most ambitious of anything else announced at I/O today.

Powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash and built with Google's Antigravity coding IDE, Spark connects to Gmail, Docs, and eventually over 30 third-party apps, including Uber, OpenTable, Lyft, and Zillow. It rolls out to AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. next week.

To stop it from going rogue with your credit card, Google talked about Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), which caps what Spark can spend, where it can shop, and what it can buy. For now, you still approve every transaction. The company described Spark as a teenager getting their first debit card and stated that over time, the agent will get looser guardrails as trust is built.

Google's AI subscription tiers got cheaper

Google reshuffled its AI subscription lineup at I/O, and the headline is that things got more affordable. As I reported earlier, the new entry point for AI Ultra is $99.99/month — down from $250 — aimed at developers and power users, bundling Gemini 3.5 Flash, 5x the usage limits of Pro, priority access to Google Antigravity, 20TB of storage, and a full YouTube Premium plan. The $250 tier still exists but drops to $200. The full lineup now sits at AI Plus ($7.99), AI Pro ($19.99), and AI Ultra (starting at $99.99).

Credit: Google

Google is also ditching the per-prompt counting model in favor of measuring compute used, meaning a simple text query barely dents your limit while a complex video task costs more. Limits also now refresh every five hours instead of daily, and if you hit your cap, Google automatically steps you down to a lighter model rather than cutting you off entirely.

Gmail is getting a live voice mode

Gmail Live, a new feature reported by Mashable's Haley Henschel, lets you verbally ask your inbox questions instead of typing searches. The pitch is pretty straightforward — ask what your flight's gate number is or what's happening at your kid's school this week, and Gmail pulls the answer from your emails. Similar conversational features are also coming to Google Docs and Keep. Gmail Live rolls out this summer for AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, with a Workspace preview at the same time.

AI Inbox, which started as an Ultra-only feature earlier this year, is getting three new additions and broader access for Pro and Plus subscribers. The updates include personalized draft replies, instant access to relevant Docs and Sheets, and one-click task management to clear out inbox clutter. Those features start rolling out today. Gmail VP of product Blake Barnes said in a media pre-brief that user data isn't used for training on either feature, and that sourcing is being built in so you can see exactly which emails informed a given response.

Google Search gets its biggest overhaul in 25 years Credit: Google

Search — the thing that made Google Google — is getting another serious injection of AI. The company is throwing a lot at its flagship product this year, and most of it falls under the same "let Gemini handle it" umbrella that dominated the keynote.

SEE ALSO: Google I/O 2026: Even more AI is coming to Google Search

The most symbolically significant update might be the new intelligent AI Search Box, which Google is billing as the first redesign of its search box in over 25 years. The expanded box now supports natural language queries and lets you attach images, videos, files, and even Chrome tabs alongside your search. Basically, Google wants you to stop Googling and start... talking to Google.

Credit: Google / YouTube

AI Overviews is also getting a back-and-forth conversation mode. Users can now ask follow-up questions directly within the Overview, turning what was a static summary into more of a chatbot exchange. It's a logical evolution, even if it continues to beg the question of what happens to the websites that used to get that traffic.

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Search Agents

The bigger swing: Google introduced Search agents, which are essentially AI assistants that run 24/7 in the background, scanning news sites, blogs, and social media on your behalf. Google's example use cases — tracking apartment listings, monitoring sneaker drops — are genuinely useful, though the catch is that these information agents are locked to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers when they launch this summer.

The agentic push extends to shopping and booking too, where agents can surface live prices, availability, and direct booking links. Google is also letting agents make actual phone calls to businesses on your behalf — a feature rolling out to all users this summer.

Google is broadening access to Personal Intelligence in Search, its feature that connects your Gmail, Google Photos, and soon Google Calendar, so Search can factor in your personal context. It's opt-in, and Google is quick to note users maintain control over their data, which is the kind of thing you say when you know people are going to ask.

Rounding things out, Google is folding AI coding tools powered by Google Antigravity directly into Search, with a clear push toward non-developers. Think custom fitness trackers or wedding planning dashboards — Gemini for people who've never touched a line of code.

Google and Samsung's smart glasses are real, just unnamed Credit: Google

The hardware story of the show was the first real look at Android XR smart glasses. Google and Samsung pulled back the curtain on two styles — one in collaboration with Gentle Monster, one with Warby Parker — both arriving this fall. There's still no name and no price, but the design is clearly meant to avoid the "obviously tech glasses" look that has plagued the category.

Google is deliberately calling these "audio glasses" to distinguish them from future display glasses. Functionally, they're in the same territory as Meta's Ray-Bans — voice commands, phone pairing, hands-free assistance — but with deep Gemini integration baked in. Samsung handled the hardware, and Google handles the AI and Android XR platform.

Credit: Samsung Google Shopping gets an overhaul Credit: Google

Shopping reporter Samantha Mangino broke down three new Google Shopping features announced at I/O, and the headliner is Universal Cart — a single cart that aggregates everything you've added across retailers like Target and Amazon into one Google-side view, working in the background to flag price drops and restock alerts. It hits Google and Gemini in the US this summer, with Gmail and YouTube support to follow.

The bigger structural move is Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which lets AI agents complete purchases and hotel bookings directly through partners, including Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, and Meta. It also surfaces relevant fees and card rewards automatically so you know what you're actually paying before you check out.

Docs Live Credit: Google

Google announced Docs Live, a new feature that lets you dump your word vomit and thoughts into Gemini and have it turn them into a structured document in real time. From there, you can refine it conversationally — just tell Gemini what to fix, add, or cut, and it updates on the spot.

SynthID gets a big lift Credit: Google / YouTube

One of the bigger under-the-radar moments of the keynote: Google's AI digital watermarking tool SynthID is being adopted by OpenAI, Kakao, and ElevenLabs. The Google project is now becoming an industry standard in fighting against AI-generated content, and it's also a rare moment of cross-company alignment in the AI space.

In addition, SynthID will also be easily accessible in Chrome and Google Search. As Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in the keynote, that means users will be able to right-click and quickly see if an image or video contains a SynthID, and thus is likely AI-generated.

Gemini Omni is Google's new world model Credit: Google

Google unveiled Gemini Omni at I/O, its new multimodal world model. While Google is positioning it as a model that can "create anything from any output," the keynote demo leaned heavily into video generation. The first release in the family, Gemini Omni Flash, is available today for paid AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers in the Gemini app and Google Flow, with a free rollout to YouTube Shorts and YouTube Create later this week.

Unlike text-to-video tools like Veo, Omni is multimodal in both directions — you can feed it text, audio, images, or video, and it generates back accordingly. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis called it a "meaningful step" toward AGI at the keynote. The practical showcase was mostly about video editing through conversation, like swapping backgrounds, changing angles, and adjusting specific details in a clip. There's also an Avatar feature for creating a digital likeness of yourself, though Google says it's still being tested before a broader rollout. All Omni-generated videos get embedded with Google's SynthID watermark to identify them as AI-generated.

YouTube gets two updates, neither of them huge

YouTube got a relatively light showing at I/O compared to the rest of Google's product slate — but there were two things worth flagging.

Gemini Omni is coming to YouTube Shorts Remix, the platform's AI creation tool that generates videos from existing content. Creators will be able to use more advanced AI prompts to remix their Shorts, with AI-generated content labels and links back to the original source automatically applied. Google also expanded its likeness detection tool — which flags content where a creator's face has been AI-altered — to all creators 18 and older.

SEE ALSO: Google launches Gemini 3.5 Flash model. How to try it for free now.

The second update isn't on YouTube itself but inside Google Search. Ask YouTube lets users surface relevant YouTube videos directly within search results when asking complex questions. Think tutorial-style queries — how to fix something, how to learn something — where a video would actually be more useful than a text answer. It's still in testing but expected to roll out across the US this summer.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Apples AI-powered accessibility upgrades include eye-controlled wheelchairs

Mashable - Tue, 05/19/2026 - 22:14

Apple Intelligence is coming to the company's industry-leading accessibility tools, including upgraded vision, captioning, and mobility features now enhanced with machine learning.

In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which falls on May 21, the tech giant announced a suite of new AI-powered capabilities for the Apple ecosystem, covering its most popular accessibility offerings like VoiceOver, Magnifier, Voice Control, and Reader.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft Teams won’t put everyone in a virtual room anymore — no more 'Together'-ness

"Apple’s approach to accessibility is unlike any other. Now, with Apple Intelligence, we are bringing powerful new capabilities into our accessibility features while maintaining our foundational commitment to privacy by design," said CEO Tim Cook.

Upgraded access tools

Many of the new upgrades come to Apple's vision and voice control tools, designed for users who are blind or have low vision and those with various ranges of mobility.

With Image Explorer, part of Apple's gesture-based screen reader known as VoiceOver, users can get more detailed descriptions of device displays and content. VoiceOver's Live Recognition feature can be activated by the iPhone Action button and respond to detailed follow-up questions.

Credit: Apple

Instead of relying on memorizing specific commands or locations on a screen, iPhone and iPad users will be able to use natural language commands to navigate their devices using Voice Control and on-device tools like Magnifier. That means a user can simply ask their device to "tap the orange folder" or "zoom in on that word," and the device will respond — Apple calls it the power to just "say what you see."

New way to caption content

Apple's AI can also automatically generate on-device subtitles for uncaptioned video, including content taken on-device by Apple users, video sent to users without captions, and even streamed video.

The company's Accessibility Reader tool is getting an upgrade that will make it possible to navigate complicated text, like scientific studies with columns, images, and tables, provide more on-demand summaries, and translate languages without changing custom formatting.

Apple Vision Pro for power wheelchair users

Last, but certainly not least, Apple is adding a feature to Apple Vision Pro that will allow power wheelchair users to navigate their mobility devices using just the virtual reality headset.

The company explained that the feature leverages the device's eye-tracking — technology already used to power alternative drive controls, device navigation, and communication tools for people with various disabilities — but requires less frequent calibration than typical drive control devices. Apple still recommends users only use Apple Vision Pro headsets in controlled environments without potential obstacles or inclement weather, however.

Credit: Apple

Additionally, Apple is making it easier to pair and hand off Made for iPhone hearing aids when switching devices, and add in human ASL interpreters to ongoing FaceTime calls. Apple tvOS is getting larger text support for people with low vision, and Name Recognition is expanding to 50 languages.

Apple said the upgraded tools and features will roll out later this year. The company also said it was expanding its collaborative Hikawa Grip & Stand line, a third-party accessibility accessory designed by artist Bailey Hikawa and released for a limited time last year.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Google Pics is a new Workspace tool that sounds like a big Canva competitor

Mashable - Tue, 05/19/2026 - 22:10

Google wants to be your one and only workspace. Gmail and Drive can replace Outlook, Word, and Excel. Chat could replace Slack. But can the new Google Pics mean trouble for Canva?

At Google I/O, AI was front and center, and the basis for new features coming to Google Workspace. One of the new programs coming to Workspace is Google Pics, a platform for editing existing photos, creating photos from scratch, and designing flyers, graphics, and more. All of that sounds a lot like Canva, an online graphic design tool with free and paid tiers that lets you edit photos and make graphics.

Suz Chambers, Director of Google Creative Labs, demoed Google Pics live on stage at Google I/O. Credit: Google / Mashable

Google Pics is built off of Google's existing AI image creation platform Nano Banana. At Google I/O, Suz Chambers, Director of Google Creative Lab, demoed Google Pics, cropping an existing photo, editing out an unwanted object, and adding text to the picture to create a graphic. Tasks that, for the record, could also be completed within Canva.

Will Google Pics be an enticing switch for Canva users? Well, that's still to be seen, as the program is in the testing phase with plans to launch this summer for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Meanwhile, Canva is free and available to all.

Categories: IT General, Technology
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