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Apple has released a new iOS beta, and this one brings a big change to Liquid Glass.

It seems Apple heard the critiques from Liquid Glass haters, and the new iOS 26.1 beta 4 offers a solution.

What's new? If you haven't downloaded the beta, don't worry. We'll tell you.

Liquid Glass opacity options

Easily the biggest addition to the iOS 26.1 beta 4 is the ability to toggle Liquid Glass. Apple brought an entirely new design to the iPhone with iOS 26 in the form of Liquid Glass, which incorporates lots of transparent elements into the UI.

While Liquid Glass's clear styling certainly has its fans, others prefer the less transparent design of old.

In iOS 26.1 beta 4, users can now go to Settings, then Display & Brightness, followed by the Liquid Glass option, and select a new "Tinted" option. This changes the opacity behind notification windows and other key features. It basically makes Liquid Glass less see-through, making it easier on the eyes for some users. It's the closest you can get to turning off Liquid Glass entirely.

While Apple did already provide Liquid Glass options in the Accessibility settings, this gives a more uniform set of options to users who just want a quick settings change.

Disable Lock Screen Swipe for Camera

Ever find yourself accidentally opening the Camera app on your iPhone due to how you're holding the device while it's locked?

Well, Apple has added a new settings option for you.

If an iPhone user currently swipes from right-to-left on their locked iPhone screen, it will automatically launch the Camera app without the need to unlock the device.

In iOS 26.1 beta 4, users can now disable that lock screen swipe for Camera entirely. Just go to the Camera options in the Settings app to toggle off "Lock Screen Swipe to Open Camera."

UPDATE Wednesday, 12:15 p.m. ET: This story includes a statement from Amazon responding to the New York Times article.

Retail giant Amazon sees more robots and fewer human employees in its future, according to a blockbuster report in the New York Times.

Referencing employee interviews and internal documents, the Times found that the Seattle-based company hopes to replace more than a half million jobs with robots. The company’s goal, according to the documents, is to eventually automate 75 percent of its operations.

Currently, Amazon is the nation’s second-largest employer, with about 1.5 million workers around the globe. The company has been on a growth trajectory for years, especially once COVID hypercharged online shopping among the public. Even though Amazon is looking to drastically curtail hiring in the coming years, it still expects to sell twice as many products by 2033 as it does now.

SEE ALSO: AWS outage update: What happened yesterday and why

Many Amazon workers toil in giant warehouses spread around the world, boxing online orders and shipping them out around the world. But in a new facility in Shreveport, La. built with automation in mind, a thousand robots do much of the packing and shipping work, allowing Amazon to employ a quarter fewer employees than it would without the robots. In 2026, the Louisiana facility will only need half as many employees as it would have before the addition of robots, according to Amazon docs. The operation of the Shreveport facility will be replicated in approximately 40 facilities by the end of 2027. 

The company is already formulating a public relations push to soften the blow of reduced hiring, attrition, or even layoffs, according to the Times. Internal discussions revealed by the paper include greater community involvement by Amazon and changing corporate language from "automation," "AI," and "robot," to "advanced technology" and "cobot" (robots collaborating with humans). The company also reportedly hopes to increase messaging about the creation of new technical jobs tasked with keeping the robots running, though those jobs typically require more training and less human power.

Amazon executives, led by CEO Andy Jassy, are under pressure by Amazon’s board of directors "to do more with less," according to the Times.

"For years and years, they were really investing for growth, and in the last three years the company’s focus has shifted to efficiencies," Wall Street analyst Justin Post told the newspaper.

SEE ALSO: Is Amazon still delivering packages during the AWS outage?

Amazon’s decision to employ more automation — there are already a million robots at work for the company — will likely disproportionately impact minority workers, especially Black employees; Amazon warehouse workers are about three times as likely as a typical American worker to be Black, the Times reports.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel released the following statement in response to the Times article:

“Leaked documents often paint an incomplete and misleading picture of our plans, and that’s the case here. In our written narrative culture, thousands of documents circulate throughout the company at any given time, each with varying degrees of accuracy and timeliness. In this instance, the materials appear to reflect the perspective of just one team and don't represent our overall hiring strategy across our various operations business lines - now or moving forward. The facts speak for themselves: No company has created more jobs in America over the past decade than Amazon. We're actively hiring at operations facilities across the country and recently announced plans to fill 250,000 positions for the holiday season.”

For Amazon, the advent of automation potentially presents another upside for shareholders — the robots can’t unionize. The company has long had a strained relationship with organized labor, with the company in September letting go of 150 unionized drivers in New York, allegedly in retaliation for their participation in a workers’ strike. Amazon claimed at the time that the drivers weren’t "fired," but rather victims of canceled contracts with a subcontractor who employed the drivers.

Oct. 21 was a big day for streamers rising their subscription prices. Disney+ just implemented a price hike, as did HBO Max. Now Dropout is revealing a new pricing tier to their subscription service. But fans of the company that brings us such outside-the-box shows as Game Changer, Dimension 20, and Crowd Control might well expect Dropout CEO Sam Reich wouldn't go about this like his competitors.

Just months after upping their price by one dollar a month, from $5.99 to $6.99, Dropout has announced a Superfan tier. In a video released on Instagram and Youtube, Reich himself explained the new tier and that it came about because of the fans' reaction to the price hike in May. Far from complaining, many subscribers commented on Dropout's various social media accounts they'd happily pay more. So now you can.

SEE ALSO: 'Game Changer' smartly weaponizes its social media following in 'Fool's Gold'

"We think Dropout should cost about as much as a big sandwich," Reich explains, "On the other hand, we'd like your money. Dropout is becoming more expensive as as we make more shows and pay people more. And if we're going to take the next big step as a company into scripted and animation...we sure could use the additional support."

The Superfan tier comes with "no exclusive episodes, no early access to episodes, no free merch." Instead, the first tier will still give you access to all the shows you've enjoyed before. As for the Superfan tier — "Think of this as a Dropout Fan Club," he said, adding there will be a few "Patreon-style perks [like] a behind the scenes blog, where we go deep on the nitty gritty of how Dropout content is made, the opportunity to purchase, and yes, spend even more money on exclusive merch, and a first go at spending even more money on live events like such as Dropout Improv and Dimension 20 Live."

The cost of the Superfan tier is $129.99 a year. But for a limited time, Dropout's sign-up site is offering all the perks of Superfan for $97.49 for your first year.

"If you wanna pay us more, you can," Reich concludes. Otherwise, the first tier will do what it's doing, and Dropout still openly promotes sharing your password with friends. Or as Sam says, "You on a friends' account, you arguably have the best deal of all."

Reading is good, but you know what’s better? Listening. I get Windows 11’s various tools to read text out loud to me, so I can do other things simultaneously. Here’s how you can do that, too.

Ever since the rollout of the first M-series chips in 2020, MacBooks have dominated our guide to the best laptops.

That custom Apple silicon has delivered impressive performance and long battery life, which Windows laptops have only begun to touch via Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series CPUs. Granted, MacBooks tend to be more expensive than their Windows counterparts, especially as you add more RAM and storage. But their premium price tags accurately reflect their premium, oft-imitated design and build quality. It's no coincidence that other PC makers keep adding "Air" to their ultraportables' names.

Apple's hot streak continues with the latest M4- and M5-powered models, some of the best MacBooks (and best laptops) ever.

Which MacBook should you buy? Apple's first M5-powered MacBook has landed. The average user probably doesn't need it. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Apple just released a new 14-inch MacBook Pro, its first laptop with the M5 chip. Still, I think the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air is the best choice for most people. (Its 13-inch counterpart is also a good option for students since it's cheaper and a little more portable.) The M4 Air offers quiet, Pro-level power with a more portable design and a more reasonable price point. Better yet, it's frequently on sale for under $1,000 at Amazon and Best Buy.

The new 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro is the superior pick if you want a nicer 120Hz display, cooler multitasking performance, and a better variety of ports — and you've got some wiggle room in your budget. Its predecessor is also worth considering when it's on sale.

SEE ALSO: Apple is finally working on a touchscreen MacBook Pro

Below, I've detailed all of my recommendations for the best MacBooks to buy in 2025, including more options for students, bargain hunters, and creative professionals who can splurge.

What's new

As of late October 2025, the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro has replaced the M4 model as our upgrade pick for users who want a nicer display, more ports, and cooler multitasking performance. It's a smidge faster than its predecessor and priced the same. Their design and specs are otherwise identical.

There’s no shortage of methods for transferring files from a computer to a phone. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, SD cards, USB drives, etc. What if you could beam a file from your PC to your Android phone just by pointing your camera at an image?

OpenAI has, so far, stuck to making various LLMs and AI models and one consumer product: ChatGPT. It now wants to try browsers, though I'm not sure if you should try this one out.

In an era where online threats are on the rise, choosing a Chrome extension you trust is crucial for secure browsing. I have tested and researched various extensions and curated a list of the ones I trust to remain in my Chrome browser.

Artists are pulling their music off Spotify, and users are deleting their accounts in protest of the company's many controversial decisions.

Why are artists removing their music from Spotify?

Critics say Spotify's algorithm has turned music lovers into "lazy listeners," while artists argue the platform fails to fairly compensate them for their work. CEO Daniel Ek's investment in a company developing AI for military use has sparked further backlash. Most recently, Spotify faced public outrage for running recruitment ads for ICE — and refused to pull them.

In response, bands like Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Hotline TNT, The Mynabirds, WU LYF, Kadhja Bonet, Young Widows, and many others have left the platform, with most citing Ek’s ties to AI-driven defense tech as the final straw.

"We don't want our music killing people. We don't want our success being tied to AI battle tech," Deerhoof told NPR in a statement. "Deerhoof is a small mom and pop operation, and know when enough is enough. We aren't capitalists, and don't wish to take over the world. Especially if the price of 'discoverability' is letting oligarchs fill the globe with computerized weaponry, we're going to pass on the supposed benefits."

How to move your Spotify playlists to Apple Music and other music streaming apps

Listeners who have chosen to boycott the company are mostly moving over to Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal, but there are also options with Qobuz, Soundiiz, and Resonate.

One reason stopping some listeners from switching platforms is that all of their saved music — and beloved playlists — are on Spotify.

You have to use a third-party app like SoundDiiz or TuneMyMusic to transfer your playlists from Spotify to Amazon Music, YouTube Music, TIDAL, and Qobuz, but Apple Music lets you import music from Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, TIDAL, and YouTube.

Here's how to transfer your playlists and saved songs from Spotify to Apple Music.

Total Time

• 1 min

What You Need

• iPhone
• Spotify App
• Apple Music App
• Apple Music Subscription

Step 1: Navigate to Apps in your Settings

Open settings and scroll down to Apps

Credit: Mashable screenshot

Step 2: Navigate to Music

Scroll down and click "Music" in your apps

Credit: Mashable screenshot

Step 3: Transfer your music

Tap "Transfer Music from Other Music Services" at the bottom of your screen.

Credit: Mashable screenshot

Step 4: Transfer from Spotify

Choose "Spotify" if you're transferring from Spotify. It will direct you to sign into your account, and may ask you to approve the transfer.

Credit: Mashable screenshot

Step 5: Choose what to transfer and add to your library.

The final step! Choose what you'd like to transfer — songs, playlist, etc — and click "Add to library."

Credit: Mashable screenshot

When you're done, Apple Music might ask you to review alternatives. For me, a few songs that belonged on multiple albums — Yebba's Boomerang, for instance — required reviews.

Once you've made your selections there, you're all done!

Netflix has plenty to offer from must-watch shows (Squid Game, Stranger Things) to award-worthy movies (The Irishman, Marriage Story). But what about horror? Whether it’s Halloween or not, sometimes you crave something terrifying in either zombie gore or psychological shock.

Your phone calls are about to sound better—at least if you’re a Google Fi customer. In its first “Feature Reveal for Google Fi Wireless,” the company has announced AI noise filters that scrub out the background noise, even when you're talking to a landline. Plus, Google Messages for Web is finally getting full RCS support.

Manual transmissions are practically a rarity these days. Most cars either offer them as an afterthought or skip them altogether, and while modern automatics are slick, there’s nothing like feeling the gears click and having a real connection to the drive—even if it’s just on your daily commute.

Today, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Atlas, an AI browser with ChatGPT built in. It's now available globally on macOS for free, Plus, Pro, and Go ChatGPT users.

According to OpenAI's announcement, the browser is a step towards the company building a "true super-assistant." ChatGPT has long been rumored to be working on an AI browser, as Mashable reported back in July.

SEE ALSO: Sam Altman: ChatGPT will get more 'friendly' again, even erotically so

"With Atlas, ChatGPT can come with you anywhere across the web — helping you in the window right where you are, understanding what you’re trying to do, and completing tasks for you, all without copying and pasting or leaving the page," the blog post states.

OpenAI also shared a video previewing ChatGPT Atlas features on X and its website.

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Atlas opens with a search bar where users can enter questions or URLs, while an "Ask ChatGPT" button can be clicked to open a sidebar on an existing tab. When writing emails or other documents, users can also use their cursor to highlight text, and ChatGPT will suggest edits.

ChatGPT memory is baked into Atlas, so users will be able to ask about what they looked up or worked on previously. Browser memories are apparently private to your account, and users can decide which sites ChatGPT can see. Both specific pages and the entire history can be cleared by users. You can also use Atlas Incognito, which signs you out of ChatGPT.

Credit: Screenshot courtesy of OpenAI

The recently introduced ChatGPT parental controls work in Atlas, and there are new parental control options, like parents turning off browser memories and agent mode.

OpenAI also claims in its blog that agent mode, which can navigate the web and perform tasks, is improved in Atlas. As an example, the preview video shows ChatGPT Atlast assisting users with making purchases on InstantCart. Agent mode in Atlas is available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Business users.

As part of new safety guards related to ChatGPT agent, it can't run code in the browser, download files, or install extensions. It can't access other apps on your computer, nor the file system, and it'll "pause to ensure you're watching it take actions on specific sensitive sites such as financial institutions." You can use the agent while you're logged out if you want to limit access to sensitive data.

SEE ALSO: The AI browser war is underway. Compare the top browsers from Perplexity, Opera, and more.

"ChatGPT's agent capabilities still carry risk," the blog post warns.

Atlas is available in beta for Business users, as well as for Enterprise and Edu users if enabled by the plan's administrator. Versions for Windows, iOS, and Android are coming soon.

How to try ChatGPT Atlas Total Time

• 5-10 minutes

What You Need

• Mac desktop
• ChatGPT account

Step 1: Download ChatGPT Atlas

You can download ChatGPT Atlas at the OpenAI website. It's only available for Mac desktop users for now.

Step 2: Sign into ChatGPT in Atlas

While you can use Atlas in incognito mode while signed out, when first setting up the browser, you need to log in to your ChatGPT account.

Step 3: Import data from another browser

You can bring over your bookmarks, history, and passwords over from another browser like Google Chrome or Safari.

Step 4: Allow Keychain Access

Keychain on Mac keeps track of sensitive data like passwords and encryption keys.

Step 5: Decide whether you want to enable memories

If enabled, Atlas will be able to recall what you searched and worked on previously.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

Kindle (2024) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (2024): Price

Our first category is the simplest. One number is higher than the other, after all.

In terms of price, the regular Kindle walks away with this one because it's $50 cheaper than the Paperwhite. Whatever other advantages the Paperwhite may have, it will never have that one.

Winner: Kindle (2024)

Kindle (2024) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (2024): Design Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Both devices are imminently recognizable as Kindles, and while one doesn't necessarily look cooler than the other, there are major size differences to consider.

Here's how the two Kindles stack up in terms of dimensions:

• Kindle (2024): 6.2-inch x 4.3-inch x 0.32-inch with 6-inch display

• Kindle Paperwhite (2024): 7-inch x 5-inch x 0.3-inch with 7-inch display

The Paperwhite is a good deal larger than the regular Kindle, which is its main selling point. It also has an adjustable front light with 19 LEDs, compared to the four LEDs on the regular Kindle. If you need a bigger and/or brighter display, the Paperwhite is the one to get. It also allows you to use a "warm light" option for a more pleasant reading experience in the dark.

Just know that you're going to sacrifice some weight along the way. The regular Kindle comes in at 5.56 ounces, while the Paperwhite is a relatively bulky 7.4 ounces. Plus, the 6-inch Kindle has a better hand-feel for reading marathons, but the Paperwhite has a bigger screen size for more words per page.

Overall, the Paperwhite has more going for it in terms of design.

Winner: Kindle Paperwhite (2024)

Kindle (2024) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (2024): Features Your Kindle library will appear exactly the same on both the Kindle (2024) and Paperwhite (2024). Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

This would've been a much more substantial conversation a few years ago. There was a time when the regular Kindle didn't even have a front light, which made the Paperwhite much more desirable by comparison. However, times have changed.

These days, the two devices' functionality is very similar. Both can read books (duh), play audiobooks via Bluetooth, and have screens that should look fine in sunlight due to a lack of glare. Unfortunately, both will display advertisements on the lock screen unless you pay an extra $20 for either Kindle.

Neither offer color, if you want that, you need to swing for the Kindle Colorsoft. Where the Paperwhite does have the upper hand is the adjustable screen warmth.

Because the two devices' basic functionality is so similar, this one is kind of a wash. You'll be fine either way.

Winner: Tie

Kindle (2024) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (2024): Storage

Spending a little extra won't get you extra storage. Both the 2024 Kindle and 2024 Paperwhite come with 16GB of storage, making this match-up a tie. 16GB may not seem like a lot of storage when you're thinking in terms of smartphones or tablets, but for e-readers, that's enough space for thousands of ebooks.

But if you want anything more than that, there's a substantially more expensive Paperwhite Signature Edition with 32GB of storage, but that doesn't help us here.

Winner: Tie

Kindle (2024) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (2024): Battery life

When it comes to battery life, the more expensive device is the better option.

Amazon rates the 2024 Kindle for six weeks of battery life on a full charge. As for the Paperwhite, the estimated battery life is double that, for a whopping 12 weeks. That makes the Paperwhite the pretty clear winner. Having to charge your e-reader every three months versus every month-and-a-half is a major boon.

Winner: Kindle Paperwhite (2024)

Kindle (2024) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (2024): Water resistance

Some people like reading at the pool, at the beach, or in the bathtub. Why not? It's super relaxing. If you're one of those people, there's a clear winner here.

The 2024 Kindle is not waterproof at all. Don't get it wet. The 2024 Paperwhite, meanwhile, has an IPX8 rating, which, according to Amazon, means it can survive for up to 60 minutes submerged in up to two meters of water. That seems like a fairly unrealistic scenario, so if you accidentally drop the Kindle Paperwhite in the bathtub, you won't need to buy another device.

Winner: Kindle Paperwhite (2024)

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With the release of the iOS 26.1 beta 4 update, both the critics and accessibility advocates can rejoice: Apple has made it easier for users to customize the Liquid Glass UI.

The Liquid Glass design, which drew some mild criticism from iPhone users transitioning to iOS 26, now offers the choice between Clear and Tinted modes. The update applies to both mobile and desktop users (read more about the macOS Tahoe 26.1 beta 4) and serves as a fallback option for those who had trouble reading the Clear version of the interface.

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To access the feature, beta users can go to the "Display & Brightness" menu under Settings to find the new Liquid Glass option. On Mac, it’s located under "Appearance" in System Settings. The Tinted option increases the opacity of the UI, which should make notifications and text easier to read.

It’s a welcome update, as many iOS 26 users complained about the interface's translucency — and it seems Apple has been listening. In a statement to TechCrunch, Apple said feedback from beta testers made it clear that users wanted more customization for Liquid Glass.

While the Appearance option won’t roll out publicly until the official iOS 26.1 update, it’s a far better solution than before. Since users can’t roll back to iOS 26 or disable Liquid Glass entirely, the previous workaround involved diving into Accessibility settings, reducing transparency, and tweaking the home screen color for a makeshift tinted look.

The ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X handheld PCs have landed to generally good reviews, making them some of the best handheld gaming PCs you can buy today.

UPDATE Tuesday, 1:41 p.m. ET: With Amazon's AWS issues fully resolved, the online world was left to parse through the postmortem on Tuesday.

It's concerning and, yet, unsurprising to see how fragile the internet's ecosystem can prove. When a central pillar like AWS goes down, it topples large chunks of the internet with it. We've seen it before with Google Cloud, Microsoft, CrowdStrike, and others.

The modern internet is vast but delicate. As many news outlets pointed out, a few big tech companies hold vast market share, and when those services go down, the downstream effects can be troubling. And that's exactly how it played out on Monday.

UPDATE Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. ET: While Amazon's AWS services were fully restored by Tuesday, the fallout of the massive outage is still becoming clear.

Issues with a single service caused major disruptions to the basic things that make our lives functional. Canvas crashed, disrupting learning nationwide. Lloyds Bank customers lost access to their accounts. Some United Airlines flyers couldn't check in or view their reservations. People's alarms didn't go off. There are too many examples to list — it was a full meltdown.

To some, Monday was an example of Big Tech being too big. If an AWS outage can cause such widespread issues, that may be a problem.

"If a company can break the entire internet, they are too big. Period," wrote Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren on X. "It's time to break up Big Tech."

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UPDATE Monday, 8:20 p.m. ET: Amazon provided more updates on how it repaired its AWS services and noted, "By 3:01 PM [PT, or 6:01 p.m. ET), all AWS services returned to normal operations. Some services such as AWS Config, Redshift, and Connect continue to have a backlog of messages that they will finish processing over the next few hours. We will share a detailed AWS post-event summary."

UPDATE Monday, 5:05 p.m. ET: The latest updates from Amazon indicated its AWS services were progressing toward full resolution.

"Service recovery across all AWS services continues to improve," the company wrote. It noted it was continuing to "reduce throttles" on certain affected tools.

SEE ALSO: Amazon internet outage reactions hit full meltdown

UPDATE Monday, 3:41 p.m. ET: Amazon indicated its AWS services were well on the way to fully recovering.

"We continue to observe recovery across all AWS services," the company wrote. It did note customers may still face "intermittent function errors" with Lambda, its serverless compute service.

AWS saw a major outage in the early hours of Monday morning, a temporary recovery, and then further issues as the East Coast neared midday. You can read the full explanation of the outages in both the original story and our regular updates to this article, but, in short, any problem with AWS means major issues for large swaths of the internet. Sites and services such as United Airlines, Snapchat, McDonald's, Verizon, Venmo, and countless others all saw spikes in user-reported issues on Downdetector.

While the internet is vast, there are a few pillars — AWS perhaps chief among them — that can lead to large, disruptive downstream effects should they experience problems.

UPDATE Monday, 3:01 p.m. ET: Amazon said its continued efforts to remedy issues with its AWS services appeared to be working, noting it saw "decreasing networking connectivity issues," according to the most recent update on its status page.

Users still reported a relatively high number of issues with AWS on Downdetector, though many third-party services apparently affected by the AWS outage appeared to be recovering.

It's been a tremendously turbulent Monday for AWS. The popular cloud platform saw a major outage in the early morning hours, briefly recovered, and then experienced new problems around midday.

(Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by Ziff Davis, the same parent company as Mashable.)

UPDATE Monday, 2:15 p.m. ET: Amazon said its efforts to fix its connectivity issues appear to be working. Its widely popular AWS cloud platform suffered renewed issues starting around midday, just hours after a major outage during the early hours of Monday morning.

The company wrote its "mitigations to resolve launch failures" were progressing and that it expected "launch errors and network connectivity issues to subside" as it worked to apply fixes more widely.

UPDATE Monday, 1:15 p.m. ET: Amazon wrote it was working to fix connectivity issues that arose midday Monday ET, hours after a major outage in the early hours of the day.

"We continue to apply mitigation steps for network load balancer health and recovering connectivity for most AWS services," read the latest update from the AWS status page.

Mike Chapple, an IT professor at the University of Notre Dame, said that further issues surfacing after the initial outage is not necessarily a surprising development.

"While this is disruptive, it isn't unusual. The process of fixing a serious IT infrastructure issue often creates new problems, and fixes often need to be rolled out across a large number of systems over time," Chapple said in an emailed statement to Mashable. "As engineers work to steady the system, operations slowly stabilize and things return to normal.  Think of it like a utility outage that occurs in a large city.  The power might flicker on and off a few times as repair crews do their work.  We're seeing something similar now with AWS."

SEE ALSO: AWS outage: Is Canvas down?

UPDATE Monday, 12:15 p.m. ET: Amazon said it was homing in on the underlying issue that caused renewed issues with AWS on Monday.

"We have narrowed down the source of the network connectivity issues that impacted AWS Services," read the latest update from the AWS status page. "The root cause is an underlying internal subsystem responsible for monitoring the health of our network load balancers."

It was not yet clear when outages and issues would be fully resolved.

UPDATE Monday, 11:45 a.m. ET: Amazon confirmed AWS was experiencing more issues late Monday morning, just hours after the issue was apparently resolved. The company wrote it was investigating "the root cause for the network connectivity issues that are impacting AWS services such as DynamoDB, SQS, and Amazon Connect," in its most recent update to the AWS status page.

Meanwhile, widespread service disruptions across the internet continued. User-reported issues have spiked for a number of popular services, according to Downdetector, including FanDuel, Snapchat, Apple Music, Asana, Verizon, and many more. The renewed AWS problems appeared to be significant and once again causing problems for large numbers of users.

A service disruption at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's popular cloud hosting and data service, caused massive problems for internet users starting their workweek on Monday. Since AWS powers huge portions of the internet, the list of services and sites that suffered outages on Monday was pretty staggering.

According to user-reported issues at the site Downdetector, affected services include United Airlines, AT&T, Fortnite, Disney+, HBO Max, Signal, Snapchat, McDonald's, Verizon, Venmo, and many more. (Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by Ziff Davis, the same parent company as Mashable.) Amazon services like Prime and Alexa were affected, too. In short: Almost anyone could've been affected in some way.

Nearly everything we own is internet-connected — our fridges are WiFi-enabled billboards — meaning an AWS outage can disrupt large swaths of lives.

SEE ALSO: AWS outage list: Roblox, Fortnite, Snapchat, Signal, and more

Nearing midday, it appeared the issue was over. But then Amazons's AWS Health Dashboard indicated problems had resurfaced.

"We have confirmed multiple AWS services experienced network connectivity issues in the US-EAST-1 Region," read an update around 10:30 a.m. ET. "We are seeing early signs of recovery for the connectivity issues and are continuing to investigate the root cause."

It appeared AWS was seeing issues again, though not on the scale of the outage in the earlier hours. Some services, such as Venmo and Boost Mobile, saw a corresponding jump in user-reported issues on Downdetector.

Amazon previously said that problem had either fully resolved or was resolving. Mashable reached out for comment and was directed to the AWS Health Dashboard. At about 6:35 a.m. ET the AWS Health Dashboard indicated the main issue was resolved, though problems may persist as things got up and running. That could, perhaps, hint at the new problems that surfaced.

"The underlying DNS issue has been fully mitigated, and most AWS Service operations are succeeding normally now," the 6:35 a.m. ET update read. "Some requests may be throttled while we work toward full resolution."

What caused the AWS outage?

The exact reason AWS initially went down remains unknown, but we have an idea. Services using AWS were unable to access DynamoDB, an Amazon-run database, because the Domain Name System (DNS) had a problem. The DNS effectively translates website names into IP addresses. So when Amazon wrote on its Health Dashboard that the DNS issue had been "fully mitigated," it's saying the real problem was fixed.

"Amazon had the data safely stored, but nobody else could find it for several hours, leaving apps temporarily separated from their data," Mike Chapple, an IT professor at University of Notre Dame, told CNN. "It's as if large portions of the internet suffered temporary amnesia."

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Rafe Pilling, the director of threat intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Sophos, told The Guardian that the incident didn't appear to be a cyberattack or anything nefarious, which is aligned with Amazon's statements.

"When anything like this happens the concern that it’s a cyber incident is understandable," he told the U.K. outlet. "AWS has a far-reaching and intricate footprint, so any issue can cause a major upset."

It's likely Amazon will, at a later time, explain what happened Monday further. It's unclear how the 10:35 a.m. ET "network connectivity issues" are related, if at all, to the initial issue with the DNS, though it feels reasonable to assume issues could arise as services worked to return to normal.

Why is an AWS outage such a big deal?

In short: AWS is a central pillar of the modern internet. Without it, things crash. As major companies gobbled up market share, it actually made the infrastructure on the internet remarkably fragile — an issue with AWS, or Google, or Microsoft, or Crowdstrike means issues for tons of users.

Advocates even argue that such reliance on these big players is a free speech issue.

"We urgently need diversification in cloud computing," said Dr. Corinne Cath-Speth, head of digital human rights organization Article 19, according to The Guardian. "The infrastructure underpinning democratic discourse, independent journalism, and secure communications cannot be dependent on a handful of companies."

The long and short of it: If something goes wrong with AWS, a lot goes wrong everywhere else.

Right now, you can get the powerful Acer Aspire Go 15.6" Touch Screen Laptop for an unbelievable price of just $269.00 at Walmart. This is a major 41% discount off its original listed price of $449.00, making it an excellent value that surprised me.

Stores with the best Halloween sales at a glance Home Depot Save up to 50% on outdoor decorations Shop Now Michaels Save up to 60% on 2025 tabletop decor and Lemax Spooky Town collectibles Shop Now TJ Maxx Save up to 60% on tabletop decor, kitchenware, pillows, and blankets Shop Now

Hardcore Halloween fans get pretty lucky in the summer — most holiday store sections have been black and orange since August (or June, if you're Michaels.) But that doesn't really soften the annual gut punch that is walking into Target mid-October to see the front $5 section already in fully holly jolly mode.

But the flagrant disrespect toward our holiday does have a silver lining: The big retailers are antsy to start their Halloween clearance sales at least a week before the 31st itself. That means there's plenty of time to squeeze in one more decor haul and display the items for the last hurrah of the current spooky season.

SEE ALSO: Best high-tech Halloween decorations: I found the tallest animatronics, spookiest projectors, and otherworldly inflatables

We're keeping track of the best Halloween decoration deals now through Oct. 31, with widespread savings on indoor and outdoor decor between 50% and 60% off.

Home Depot — save up to 50%

Home Depot has grown to be the North Star of yard spook-ifying ever since the iconic 12-foot skeleton changed the game back in 2020. Skelly itself isn't on sale as of Oct. 21, but other massive members of the gang are.

• 5-foot Grave & Bones LED Skelly's Cat — $99 $199 (save $100)

• 5-foot Grave & Bones Skelly's Sitting Dog with LifeEyes — $124.98 $249 (save $124.02)

• 15-foot Gruesome Grounds Animated LED Worricrow — $199.98 $399 (save $199.02)

• 15-foot Gruesome Grounds Animated LED Gally-Crow — $199.98 $399 (save $199.02)

Lowe's — save up to 60%

As if Lowe's would let Home Depot take all of the credit. Save up to 50% on Lowe's 5 to 6-foot posable yard figures and haunting animatronics, cutesy inflatables of characters like Bluey and Stitch, and tabletop trinkets.

• Hello Kitty as a Witch 3.5-foot inflatable — $17.49 $34.98 (save $17.49)

• Haunted Living 2-foot lighted Skeleton Doodle Dog — $27.49 $54.98 (save $27.49)

• Haunted Living 10-foot posable skeleton — $69.98 $183 (save $113.02)

• Disney The Haunted Mansion Hitchhiking Ghosts motion-activated lighted animatronic — $149 $299 (save $149.50)

Michaels — save up to 60%

Halloween at Michaels certainly doesn't end wickedly early just because it starts wickedly early. You can still find massive discounts on almost all of Michaels' different 2025 and 2024 collections by Ashland, including Alice's Adventures, Dead Regency, and the popular pink Sweet & Spooky line. A ton of additions for your Lemax Spooky Town figurine setup are also on sale. Online only, save $10 when you spend $50 or more with code GETMY10.

• Lemax Spooky Town collection — save up to 50%

• Ashland 7-inch glass coffin trinket or jewelry box — $11.99 $29.99 (save $18)

• Ashland 6.75-inch ghost with travel coffee cup tabletop decor — $11.99 $29.99 (save $18)

• Ashland 14-inch EmoteGlow LED Talking Candelabra — $13.99 $34.99 (save $21)

Target — save up to 40%

There are nearly 300 items in Target's Halloween decor sale section as of Oct. 21, including a ton of unique Disney light up outdoor inflatables, plus lots of string lights. Of course, there are already Halloween candy deals galore.

• North Light LED Bloodshot Eyeball wire lights — $11.61 $15.49 (save $3.88)

• Star Wars 6.5-foot The Mandalorian and Grogu with pumpkin inflatable — $89.99 $149.99 (save $60)

• The Nightmare Before Christmas 7-foot Oogie Boogie with Lock, Shock, and Barrel inflatable — $125.99 $209.99 (save $84)

• Gemmy 9.5-foot Beetlejuice Sandworm LED inflatable — $1249.99 $249.99 (save $125)

T.J. Maxx — save up to 60%

For the right group of people, Halloween decor shopping at T.J. Maxx is like TV shopping at Best Buy on Black Friday. If the spooky selection has been picked over at your local store for weeks, just know that T.J. Maxx is having a massive sale on Halloween home stuff online. Save on chic ceramic pumpkins, cozy candles, festive kitchenware, and the cutest Halloween throw pillows.

• Cupcakes & Cashmere Creepy Cocktail kitchen towels (set of 3) — $5 $14.99 (save $9.99)

• Handcrafted in India 12 x 26 Halloween cats pillow — $9 $24.99 (save $15.99)

• Isaac Mizrahi New York Dogtober Friends throw blanket — $10 $29.99 (save $19.99)

• Toil and Trouble 26.25-inch LED Castle Haunted House — $39 $79.99 (save $40.99)

Apple is rolling out a new macOS beta shortly after its initial release last week. The new release — macOS Tahoe 26.1 Beta 4 for developers — brings a few new things to track or try out, just in time for the launch of the new M5-powered MacBook Pro tomorrow.

The Apple-focused tech outlet 9to5Mac parsed through the new beta and already picked out a couple of changes. The main thing? There's now a toggle to play with the transparency of the new Liquid Glass design, according to 9to5Mac.

Otherwise, it's the boring, usual stuff. The new beta includes "the usual bug fixes and performance improvements," 9to5Mac noted. The developer notes from Apple, for instance, say that it fixed a missing search bar in the Apple TV app. The notes from Apple also show that there were background issues that the updated beta resolved.

So, there really isn't too much of a change. And the original beta itself was pretty minor, too. As Mashable's Alex Perry wrote, there was a slight alteration to the Macintosh HD desktop icon and evidence that there were plans to support third-party AI models in Image Playground, eventually.

MacOS 26 Tahoe itself, not any beta, did bring some major changes. Most notably, it got the Liquid Glass design change that dramatically shifted how Apple devices look for users.