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Act Fast to Secure a Prime Day Deal on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Before Prices Go Up

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is going up in price soon, but you can get ahead of that with this Amazon deal.

It’s long been known that Game Pass is one of the best deals in gaming, but that view is changing fast for those who have heard the news that Microsoft is bumping the monthly price up an astonishing 50%, from $20 a month to $30 a month. That’s a big price hike, and one that’s likely going to turn some people off of it. However, with Prime Day deals available right now, it turns out you can get ahead of it and actually save a bit of money on the current price.

You can get your hands on a three-month membership for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on Amazon for $57. While this is only a 5% discount on the standard price at the moment, the price is changing soon, and you can potentially get a couple of these to cover you for the coming months. This deal won’t last long, so get it now to avoid missing out.

In the article about the price hike, CNET’s Zachary McAuliffe said, «Microsoft is likely hoping gamers appreciate having a larger gaming catalog and more choices. But depending on how much (or how little) time you have to game, the extra $10 a month for Ultimate may make you rethink your subscription.» I agree that this price hike, while coming with some extra benefits, may be a difficult pill to swallow.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

Several writers and editors of the CNET team, including me, have jumped on grabbing some of these codes while we still can. Amazon is bound to update these soon, and I don’t want to miss out on saving some money on a service that I genuinely use daily, but will struggle to justify at $30 a month. We also have several other Game Pass deals if you feel like trying a different level.

Why this deal matters

Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to a massive library of games and the ability to play a lot of those games streamed to your phone or tablet. It was a fantastic price when it came out at $15 a month and a good deal at $20 a month.

Is $30 still a good deal? I don’t know, but you can try and get ahead of it with these discounts. This may even end up being my pick for the best Prime Day deal without really even being a discount at all. 

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Technologies

Google’s New AI Features Are Trying to Make Data Entry a Thing of the Past

More Gemini AI features will come to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.

The latest batch of Google updates to its workspace tools highlights AI’s promise to automate mundanity in the workplace. Google Docs, Slides, Sheets and Drive all have new AI-powered features, the company announced Tuesday. The one thing all these updates have in common? Gemini is using your files, emails and chats to give you relevant information, not random answers gleaned from the web.

These updates come as AI is playing a bigger role in our work lives, for better or worse. Agentic tools like Claude Cowork and coding assistants like Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex are more capable than chatbots and able to handle tasks announced independently. AI tools are also becoming more customized, with Google’s personalized intelligence rolling out across its platforms to help refine AI outputs to things that are relevant and useful for you. Google continues that trend with this new batch of Workspace updates.

New Gemini AI features in Google Workspace apps will cite their sources after each query. For example, if you ask Gemini in Google Docs to fill out an itinerary template, it will pull the information from your email, chats and files. The «sources» tab in the Gemini side panel will show you where it found the information it used, like your flight confirmation email and chats discussing dinner plans. Seeing where Gemini pulled its answers from is also how you’ll double-check Gemini’s work.

The most impressive new features are in Sheets, where AI can fill in the holes in your spreadsheets. You can describe what you want the AI to do with a simple prompt and avoid writing an exact formula. You can click on an empty cell, select the pop-up that says «Drag to fill with Gemini,» then highlight the cells you want Gemini to fill in. That deploys an AI agent to search the web to fill each cell with the necessary information.

For example, if you have a spreadsheet of the contact info for local companies, you can have Gemini search the web to fill in a the location, CEO and other publicly available information of each company. The tool aims to dramatically reduce the time needed for manual data entry. Gemini can also summarize, categorize and create charts with prompts alone.

You can also chat with Gemini in Sheets and have it scour your raw data to make custom reports and charts. No need for pivot tables if they confound you as much as they baffle me. One of the biggest uses of AI at work is helping create presentations.

In Google Slides, you can now tell Gemini in natural language what you want to appear on a slide, and it will create it, matching the style of your existing slides. You can also ask Gemini to edit your slides if you don’t want to waste time painstakingly moving design elements around the slide. The AI should fill the slides with relevant information based on your instructions and the work files it has access to, so you shouldn’t need to replace a bunch of filler text.

If you use Docs, Sheets and Slides through the Workspace account of your company, then you won’t be able to turn off AI features individually. The managing company is in control of AI access for users. Personal users can tweak their settings to limit Gemini. The new features are rolling out in beta now, in English only, to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers in the US, as well as some Google Workspace customers who are part of the Gemini Alpha testing program.

For more, check out the new cowork feature in Copilot and how to use Perplexity AI for deep research.

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Nintendo Switches Lanes, Sues US Over Tariffs

Mario wants his money back.

Tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump were struck down by the Supreme Court last month. Companies that were subjected to those fees, such as FedEx and Dollar General, have since sued the federal government, and Nintendo wants a piece of the action. 

Nintendo filed a lawsuit against the federal government in the US Court of International Trade on Friday, as first spotted by Aftermath. The complaint seeks refunds of tariffs Nintendo paid, plus interest, and asks the court to declare the tariffs unlawful and stop the government from collecting them going forward. 

«Since February 1, 2025, President Trump has executed the unlawful Executive Orders, imposing tariffs on imports from a vast swath of countries,» Nintendo said in the complaint. 

When reached for comment, Nintendo of America confirmed the lawsuit. 

«We can confirm that we filed a request. We have nothing else to share on this topic,» Nintendo of America said in an emailed statement on Friday, March 6. 

It’s unclear how much Nintendo paid in tariffs, and it did not state an amount in the lawsuit. While the Switch 2 was priced at $450 when it launched last year, and has stayed at that amount, Nintendo did increase the price of the original Switch and accessories for both consoles. Microsoft and Sony also increased the prices of their hardware and accessories last year due to tariffs. 

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court ruled by a vote of 6 to 3 that the sweeping tariffs Trump instituted last year exceeded his executive powers. Following the ruling, on the same day, Trump announced a new set of tariffs of 10% on imported goods that would last for 150 days, starting Feb. 24. 

The decision on what to do with the collected tariffs — a reported $166 billion —  has been left to the US Court of International Trade. Judge Richard Eaton told the US Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday, March 4, to refund the importers that were forced to pay tariffs, which is more than 330,000. On Friday, the CBP said it couldn’t easily issue tariff refunds because its system requires duties to be recalculated and refunds processed entry by entry. This process would involve tens of millions of transactions. The agency said it’s updating its systems and could start providing refunds by late April. 

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Sony WF-1000XM6 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Earbuds: A Photo Finish

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