SAVE 13%: As of May 4, you can get the 11-inch Apple iPad Air (M4) for $519.99, down from $599 at Amazon. That’s a 13% discount and $79.01 savings.

$519.99
at Amazon

$599
Save $79.01

 

It’s not often that we get a good Apple deal on a non-big-sale day (e.g., Prime Day), but yesterday Amazon dropped the Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M4) to an all-time low of $519.99. That’s a 13% discount, or an extra $79.01 in your pocket.

If you’re still on the fence, Mashable’s Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth recently awarded this tablet a Mashable Choice award and rated it a 4.5/5 on our very strict (we’re pretty tough) scale. And while it looks basically the same as the previous-gen, Werth says it “delivers faster performance thanks to an improved neural engine and Apple’s N1 and C1X connectivity chips,” adding that “artists and note-takers will definitely appreciate this one.”

If you order it right now, Amazon guarantees free delivery by this Wednesday, May 6 (exactly four days before Mother’s Day, just in case you’re trying to get some extra brownie points with Mom).

Thanks to Liquid Glass and iPadOS26, the newest iPad Air can do double-duty as a laptop, though you’ll need Apple’s Magic Keyboard. Fortunately, both the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil Pro are also on sale at Amazon; both iPad accessories are currently $30 off, at least, for Prime members.

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At this point, most home robots are either glorified vacuums or far-off concepts that may never become commercially available. However, we just got a look at a new home companion robot potentially coming to market next year, and its inventor has a proven track record of putting robots into homes.

Colin Angle, co-founder of Roomba maker iRobot, fully unveiled his new company Familiar Machines & Magic at the Wall Street Journal‘s The Future of Everything event this week.

FM&M’s goal is to make home robots that act more as emotional companions than chore machines. Its debut product is a four-legged robot companion codenamed Ami (per The Verge). The robot looks like a cross between a dog and a bear, and it’s designed to spark a connection with its human owner.

“The next era of robotics is not just about dexterity or humanoid form — it’s about machines that can build and sustain human connection,” Angle said, per an official press release.

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Ami probably won’t launch until next year at the earliest, and we don’t have a price point yet, but it’s still quite fascinating to look at. In addition to its Roomba pedigree, a Familiar Machines & Magic press release states that the company’s employees have also worked with Disney Research, MIT, Amazon, Boston Dynamics, Bose, and Sonos.

The robot animal has 23 degrees of freedom and can move its head, ears, and eyes.

Credit: Familiar Machines & Magic

According to The Verge, it can’t grasp objects or climb stairs, which would severely limit its usefulness, if it existed to be useful, anyway. It uses on-device generative AI to learn about its owner and respond to the owner’s needs on an emotional level.

One very important detail is that it doesn’t speak, instead purring and making other pet-like noises. A pet seems to be the best point of comparison here, as the robot seems almost totally incapable of performing practical tasks, and instead exists to make people feel less lonely.

Some other crucial points include a touch-sensitive coat that should, in theory, be pleasurable to pet, and onboard cameras and microphones that help the robot react to situations without streaming that audio or video anywhere. It doesn’t have to connect to the internet to work.

The idea of using AI to cure the loneliness epidemic isn’t necessarily new or without merit, even if it can sometimes feel a bit dystopian.

Last year, Mashable reported on a service that allowed the elderly to talk to an AI over the phone, just for the sake of providing company. Multiple companies are creating AI-powered robot companions for elder care applications, including startups like ElliQ and Abi.

Anthropomorphizing robots and artificial intelligence can be dangerous, especially given what we know about AI psychosis. However, some experts believe that companion robots could prove beneficial in specific settings.

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Spirit Airlines is officially out of business. The budget airline carrier ceased operations on May 2, 2026 due to financial troubles. The company has now begun winding down after filing for bankruptcy twice and failing to secure a government bailout.

If you’re a Spirit Airlines customer, you may be asking yourself: “I booked a flight with Spirit…what do I do now?”

Here’s how to get your refund or book your flight with a different airline.

Spirit Airlines refunds

According to Spirit Airlines, anyone who booked tickets for an upcoming flight will automatically receive a refund to the credit card or debit card they used to make their purchase. 

Spirit’s official website, Spirit.com, now forwards to a new URL, spiritrestructuring.com. However, existing customers can still login to their account at https://www.spirit.com/my-trips/find-trip in order to view the status of their refund.

Customers who booked a Spirit flight through a travel agent must contact their agent for a refund.

It’s currently unclear how Spirit will handle any vouchers, credits, or points used to book flights.

Book a ‘rescue fare’ flight

Finding out that your Spirit Airlines flight home in the middle of your trip has been canceled because the company is no longer operating is certainly not a fun experience.

However, many airlines are trying to make things simple for travelers so they aren’t left stranded. Airline carriers like American Airlines, Delta, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines are all offering “rescue fares” or discount flight tickets for Spirit customers.

For example, JetBlue is offering discounted $99 one-way flights for anyone with a valid itinerary through May 6. Some airlines, however, are offering these discounts only to traveling Spirit customers who show up in person at the ticket booth during their trip.

Companies like Allegiant, American Airlines, Delta, and Frontier are also temporarily offering reduced fares on routes that Spirit once flew.