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A robot runner just beat a half-marathon record

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A red, humanoid robot wearing a gold medal stands in front of a crowd of cheering humans.

A world half-marathon record was broken at a race in China this weekend. But the winner wasn't an Olympian or even a competitive racer. It was a bright red humanoid robot. Nickname? Lightning.

The autonomous robot was competing in a robot versus human half-marathon race in Beijing, China, an annual event featuring the country's top robotics companies in a foot race test against their human counterparts.

Lightning was built by Honor, a Chinese robotics and smartphone maker. The company tested other running robot variants at the race, including the bots that took home second- and third-place titles.

Mashable got an early look at Honor's new line of AI-powered humanoid bots at the latest Mobile World Congress. The bots had an impressive stability (many of these two-legged bots are prone to tumbling) and even a crowd-pleasing dance performance. The company also debuted a new "Robot Phone," featuring a robotic eye and arm that juts out from the smartphone to take photos and respond to requests.

During Sunday's race, the company showed that the new era of humanoid robots aren't just dancers, but competitive athletes, with Lightning taking home the gold in a 50-minute and 26-second sprint — that's six minutes quicker than the fastest human and nearly two hours faster than its time in last year's race. Honor engineers explained that the robot's fast upgrade came from modeling its design after top athletes, including elongated legs and an internal liquid-cooling system.

Chinese robotics companies have been accelerating their development of humanoid robots over the last several years in direct competition with U.S. manufacturers. Lightning's record-breaking win was taken as a sign that the country's investments may be paying off.

Still, many of the robots needed assistance to cross the finish line. In addition to starting line stumbles and a few falls, about 60 percent of the competing bots were remotely operated by their human teams.

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See Spotifys most-streamed artists, songs, and albums of the past 20 years

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Taylor Swift greets fans at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards

To celebrate 20 years of streaming, Spotify just released lists of the most-streamed artists, albums, songs, podcasts, and audiobooks on the app. Popular artists, rappers, and bands like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, and Coldplay appear repeatedly on the "Spotify at 20" lists, with Swift nabbing the title of most-streamed Spotify artist of all time.

In a blog post, Spotify said it was the first time they had ever revealed the all-time top performers on the platform.

While the top artists are mostly what you'd expect, there are a handful of surprises on the lists. Britney Spears appears once, but only in the audiobooks section. And neither Jay-Z nor Beyoncé appears on the lists at all.

You can find the complete "Spotify at 20" lists at the Spotify website, or keep scrolling to see the top results.

Top 20 most-streamed artists on Spotify

  • Taylor Swift

  • Bad Bunny

  • Drake

  • The Weeknd

  • Ariana Grande

  • Ed Sheeran

  • Justin Bieber

  • Billie Eilish

  • Eminem

  • Kanye West

  • Travis Scott

  • BTS

  • Post Malone

  • Bruno Mars

  • J Balvin

  • Rihanna

  • Coldplay

  • Kendrick Lamar

  • Future

  • Juice WRLD

Most-streamed albums on Spotify

  • Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny

  • Starboy by The Weeknd

  • ÷ (Deluxe) by Ed Sheeran

  • SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo

  • After Hours by The Weeknd

  • SOS by SZA

  • Hollywood’s Bleeding by Post Malone

  • Lover by Taylor Swift

  • AM by Arctic Monkeys

  • WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? by Billie Eilish

Most-streamed songs on Spotify

  • “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd

  • “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran

  • “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood

  • “Starboy” by The Weeknd and Daft Punk

  • “As It Was” by Harry Styles

  • “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi

  • “Sunflower – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” by Post Malone and Swae Lee

  • “One Dance” by Drake, Wizkid, and Kyla

  • “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran

  • “STAY (with Justin Bieber)” by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber

Most-streamed podcasts on Spotify

  • The Joe Rogan Experience

  • Gemischtes Hack

  • Crime Junkie

  • Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

  • Last Podcast On The Left

  • The Daily

  • Fest & Flauschig

  • Morbid

  • My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

  • Relatos de la Noche

Most-streamed audiobooks in Premium on Spotify

  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

  • The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

  • Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

  • I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

  • Lights Out by Ted Koppel

  • A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

  • The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

  • The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

  • Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

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Samsung is selling refurbished Galaxy Z Fold 7 phones for more than new ones

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 in folded form

The good news is that Samsung is now selling cheaper versions of last year's foldables. The bad news is that "cheaper" is relative.

The Korean tech giant announced on Wednesday that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, two phones we at Mashable really liked a year ago, are now available in refurbished form via the company's "Re-Newed" program. You can check out refurbished Fold and Flip phones on Samsung's websites, with the former starting at $1,699 and the latter at $939. In a vacuum, if you go by the phones' suggested retail prices, those are discounts of $300 and $160, respectively.

The only problem, as 9to5Google pointed out, is that you can currently get a brand-new Galaxy Z Fold 7 on Samsung's website for $1,599, which is less than the refurbished model with the same specs. The same goes for the brand new Flip 7, which Samsung is selling for $899, a slight discount from the refurbished model. Of course, the discounted prices of the new phones could just be temporary, while the refurbished prices might stay the same over time, but it still feels a little bit backward that the new phone costs less than the refurbished one right now.

That said, either way, you're getting a deal compared to the devices' launch prices. And, for what it's worth, both phones are very good foldable devices. If you want one, this might be the time to get one.

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The Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 portable power station is on sale at Amazon for half off — save $750

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the anker solix c2000 gen 2 on a pink and purple background

SAVE $750: The Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 portable power station is on sale at Amazon for $749, down from the list price of $1,499. That's a 50% discount.



Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2

Credit: Anker Solix

$749
at Amazon

$1,499
Save $750

Summer is on its way, and with it come two scenarios where we tend to go off-grid — while camping and during the much less fun summer storms. In both cases, it's no one's idea of a great time to have a phone run out of batteries or have zero lighting. Instead of dealing with the inconvenience, upgrade to a portable power station. There's a great model from Anker on sale today.

As of April 23, the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 is on sale for $749 at Amazon, marked down from the list price of $1,499. That's a massive 50% discount that takes $750 off the normal price.

We have plenty of options when it comes to choosing a portable power station these days, but if you're looking for something in the 2,000-Wh range, the Solix C2000 Gen 2 could be your best bet. It focuses on quick recharging, taking under 60 minutes to reach 100 percent. Since it's a higher-powered unit, you can expect a continuous output of 2,400W with a peak surge of 4,000W.

In real-life terms, Anker says the Solix C2000 Gen 2 can keep a refrigerator running for as long as 32 hours or keep the WiFi router on for 105 hours. Of course, you could also power the TV, espresso machine, a blender, a CPAP machine, or a garage chest freezer.

Despite its powerful performance, the Solix C2000 Gen 2 is surprisingly small. It measures about 18 inches long and 10 inches in both height and depth. The weight clocks in at about 41 pounds, which is made easier to carry around thanks to the stable side handles.

In addition to recharging with standard wall AC power, you can use your car's alternator, a car cigarette port, a gas generator, or solar panels. With 800W of solar input, the C2000 Gen 2 will get a full charge in about three hours.

Before the summer storms roll in or you take off on a camping trip, make the upgrade to the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2. It's on sale at Amazon for 50% off, which saves shoppers a whopping $750.

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