Technologies

HBO Max Is Raising Its Ad-Free Subscription Price by $1 a Month

As of now, any new signups will need to pay the higher price. If you’re already a subscriber, your bill will go up starting Feb. 11.

HBO Max is raising the price of its ad-free subscriptions in the US by $1 to $16 a month, joining a parade of subscription video services hiking prices lately.

HBO said Thursday that the higher price for new HBO Max ad-free subscriptions is effective immediately, so anyone signing up from now on will be paying more. Existing subscribers who are paying the old $15-a-month rate will see their charges go up in their next billing cycle on or after Feb. 11.

Over more than three years, Hollywood’s major entertainment companies (and some big tech ones too) have piled on with their own subscription streaming services, taking on the likes of Netflix by embracing streaming as the future of TV. These so-called streaming wars meant, one, that companies were plowing billions of dollars into their services, and, two, that competition for your subscription dollars intensified. Now companies across the field are raising prices to cope.

HBO Max’s hike is the latest after Disney Plus raised prices in December, Apple TV Plus and Hulu increased in October, and Netflix upped US prices early last year.

«This price increase of $1 will allow us to continue to invest in providing even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users,» HBO said in a statement.

It’s the first time HBO Max has increased its monthly subscription price since it launched in May 2020. HBO Max also offers a cheaper, ad-supported tier of its service; the company didn’t specify any changes to the price of that HBO Max With Ads option.

HBO Max is in the midst of upheaval, after an ownership change last year. In April, HBO Max became the property of newly formed company Warner Bros. Discovery, a merger of cable network giant Discovery with WarnerMedia, which AT&T had bought for $85 billion less than four years prior.

Now with a mountain of debt and Discovery’s famously frugal CEO, David Zaslav, as its leader, HBO Max has been canceling a laundry list of shows and movies, including a nearly complete Batgirl film that reportedly cost $90 million. It’s also removing some shows, like Westworld, from HBO Max so that the programs can be licensed out to other services — and pull in fresh revenue as a result.

In addition, HBO Max will combine with Discovery Plus into a single service this year. The combo will put prestige fare like House of the Dragon next to basic-cable reality hits like 90-Day Fiancé on the service. But it also means subscribers will get a much bigger library with their memberships: Essentially, the combined service will be bulking up HBO Max with the addition of $7-a-month Discovery Plus, a prospect that was likely to effect pricing at some point.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

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

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.