Mashable Selects Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Look Up Back to School Say More Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off Mashable Voices Safety Net Versus All Series Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

PCWorld reports that Microsoft is finally addressing long-standing Windows 11 taskbar complaints through a new update packed with customization options. Users can now resize the taskbar, reposition it to any screen edge, and adjust Start menu layouts, restoring features many had missed. The update also cleans up Windows Search by hiding Bing and Microsoft Store clutter, while legacy tools like WMIC are being removed to modernize the OS. With yesterday's Patch Tuesday for September, Microsoft not only fixed a record number of security vulnerabilities but also released several new features for Windows 11, which you can try out now (or soon). Microsoft gradually rolls out new features across eligible Windows 11 PCs. That means most users will gain access to the new features within the next few days or weeks.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Here are a handful of ways to speed that up, ranked from safest to most experimental. A new Windows update does not automatically mean that every user receives the same features on the same day. Even if a feature is technically already part of the installed version of Windows, it may initially remain disabled on your PC. There's a method to this: With phased rollouts, Microsoft can initially deliver new features to a subset of users and monitor whether any issues arise.

Alongside a new soundbar and headphones, Sonos is announcing an updated app and some major changes to the underlying OS that powers all of its products. Forgive me for immediately delving into the recent past, but this is likely the biggest software update the company has announced since its absolutely disastrous app update in 2024. Without rehashing too much, Sonos rushed the app update out to enable functionality for its new Ace headphones, but it was missing a ton of key features and was extremely buggy. The cascading effects of this resulted in the dismissal of CEO Patrick Spence and a 2025 where the company didn't release any new products. We have to imagine that Sonos learned enough from the 2024 debacle to make sure things are locked up for the launch of Sonos 27 -- yup, the company is giving its OS annual version numbers going forward.

Look Up Say More Switch Off Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Mashable Voices Trending Now Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag All Series Apple's iOS 27 and Siri AI are coming soon: Everything we know so far Bonus: Learn about the best iOS 27 features you need to try out ASAP. Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car.

Don't want to become the main character of the day? Here's what you need to do to opt out. Bluesky is letting users opt-out of being included in the algorithmic recommendations feed. Bluesky, one of the more successful alternatives to Elon Musk's X, has just added a brand new feature that sets it apart from other social media platforms. On Thursday, the official Bluesky account on the platform announced that an opt-out option has just gone live that prevents a user's post from being included in algorithmic recommendations.

I am speaking this sentence aloud into Rambler, Google's new AI-powered dictation keyboard feature. I'm trying to write some of this review hands-free with Rambler because there is a time crunch, and so my ability to jot down my thoughts without worrying too much about speaking very cleanly is extremely helpful. Before you run away, let me assure you I have returned to typing on my laptop. A lot of the new features on Google's latest flagship phones are rooted in the idea that AI can help you do things better. Whether it's in choosing what moments in a scene to capture, what verbal utterances to delete in a message or how to fill in the details of a faraway subject in a photo, the Pixel 11 Pro's new AI tools are here to edit you or fill in gaps.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Microsoft 365 Apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will stop getting new features on Windows 10 as early as this month. Microsoft is stepping up the pressure on Windows 10 users by winding down support for Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. After August 2026, Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 will no longer receive new features, and only receive security updates for customers with an active Office subscription. Devices running Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 will receive feature updates and Copilot support (where eligible) until Version 2608 is released.

The luxury automaker is beaming a ad into its cars. What does a roughly $100,000 BMW 7 Series get you? With a few taps on the sedan's massive touch screen, you can play or let the car park itself. Last week, BMW added a new feature to its infotainment system: When drivers start up their car, they are greeted by the following message: "Surprise! Spider-Man just dropped on your BMW!" Click on the prompt, which appears in most BMWs made after 2020, and the touch screen is taken over by a commercial for, the latest movie in the Marvel franchise.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Windows 11 26H2 arrives in October. Here's why you shouldn't skip it Windows 11 26H2 will arrive in October 2026 as a tiny enablement update. Here's why you'll want to install it despite few new features. The next major update for Windows 11, called version 26H2 (which stands for "second half of 2026"), is coming in October 2026.