Technologies

Spotify Will Reportedly Get More Expensive in the US Next Year. Here’s What to Expect

The music streaming service will reportedly raise prices again after subscription rate hikes in other regions.

After announcing it is raising prices in regions including Europe, South Asia and Latin America, Spotify is reportedly about to increase prices again in the US.

The US is included in the latest Spotify price hike on its Premium services starting in early 2026, according to the Financial Times, which cited three sources familiar with the streaming music company’s dealings. For now, the least expensive Premium plans in the US start at $12, but the price hike would likely put it in line with the other regions where the Premium plan costs about $14 a month.

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Spotify also offers a Premium Family plan that covers six people in the same household for $20 and plans for students ($6 a month bundled with Hulu) and couples ($17 a month). Spotify also offers a Basic plan that does not include access to audiobooks for $11 a month. A representative for Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A steady increase

If the report is accurate, this would be the third price increase on Premium plans in the US since 2023. Before those hikes, Premium plans were $10, but Spotify raised its minimum price by $1 in 2023 then again in 2024.

Just this week, Spotify added the ability to seamlessly import playlists from other music services including Apple Music and Tidal.

Spotify has faced some controversy this year, including some music acts abandoning the platform and some customers canceling subscriptions over advertising for Homeland Security’s ICE program. CNET has a guide for canceling your Spotify subscription.

The company is the market leader among music streaming apps with about 32 percent market share as of the end of 2024.

Technologies

SXSW 2026 Updates: What We Expect on Tech and Culture From Austin

Technologies

Uber May Soon Let You Book a Zoox Robotaxi in Las Vegas and LA

Amazon-owned Zoox hopes to start offering paid robotaxi rides to regular riders sometime this year. Right now, the rides are free.

No steering wheel, no pedals, no problem. Zoox announced Wednesday that it’s partnering with Uber to make its robotaxis available on the ride-hailing company’s app in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, pending US government approval.

The multiyear partnership, announced by Zoox and Uber on Wednesday, would enable Uber customers to get rides on Zoox robotaxis in Vegas this summer and in LA in 2027. After the partnership launches, the app will match riders with robotaxis on eligible trips, Uber said in a statement. Zoox will also offer rides on its robotaxis through its own app, so customers can use either the Uber or Zoox app to ride in the vehicles.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called Zoox an «ideal partner» in a statement.

«The Zoox robotaxi is unlike any othervehicle on the planet — it was purpose-built from the ground up to deliveran extraordinary experience,» Khosrowshahi said. «Zoox’scommitment to safety and their advanced autonomous driving technology makethem an ideal partner. We’re thrilled to work together to introduce moreriders to the future of mobility.»

Zoox, founded in 2014 and acquired by Amazon in 2020, currently offers free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco during its demonstration phase of service. The company said its robotaxis have logged more than 1 million miles for more than 300,000 riders.

Zoox is also conducting tests in six other cities — Seattle, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and Austin, Texas — and announced earlier this week that Dallas and Phoenix are next. Only people in San Francisco and Las Vegas can currently get test rides through the Zoox app.

«We’re taking a measured, step-by-step approach by starting small, learning quickly, and scaling responsibly,» Zoox said in its announcement Wednesday. «This partnership with Uber will mirror that approach, beginning with a controlled deployment with the potential to expand as we refine our operations, technology, and customer experience.»

No steering wheel

The Zoox is a fully autonomous vehicle that can carry up to four passengers (PDF). It has no steering wheel, no accelerator or brake pedals, and is bidirectional, meaning it can go forward and reverse by simply switching which end of the car is considered the front. There are touchscreens and emergency call buttons. Zoox had early issues with erratic braking that caused injuries and a crash, but addressed the issue through software updates during the ensuing investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

CNET’s Abrar Al-Heeti caught a ride in a Zoox in Las Vegas. She said she felt «oddly at ease as I watch a stream of cars, chain restaurants and desert landscape flash past the windows.»

Before it can start making money on its robotaxi rides, Zoox must get an exemption from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. NHTSA is now accepting public comments on Zoox’s application for the exemption — you can post a comment here until April 10.

Zoox is seeking eight federal vehicle safety exemptions, including from rules requiring windshield wipers and windshield defrosting systems, TechCrunch reported.

Waymo is currently the main player in the US robotaxi market, with fully autonomous service in 10 US cities. But several other companies are looking to ramp up their self-driving presence this year, including Zoox, Tesla and Uber. That market expansion aligns with a Goldman Sachs forecast that more than 35,000 robotaxis will operate in the US in 2030, up from 1,500 currently. That would represent 8% of the rideshare market, with traditional human-driven rideshare comprising the other 92%.

Uber has partnerships with 25 other robotaxi services around the world, primarily Waymo — you can use the Uber app to get Waymo rides in Atlanta and Austin — and China’s Baidu, which will be testing self-driving rides in London this year.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 12, #1005

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 12 No.1,005.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

I spotted a couple of the categories in today’s NYT Connections puzzle, but the fact that I don’t take a lot of gym classes hurt my knowledge. You avid exercisers will have an advantage today. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Beach time.

Green group hint: This way, then that way.

Blue group hint: Workout time.

Purple group hint: Chirp!