Technologies

Why You Shouldn’t Cancel Netflix This November (But Hulu Can Probably Go)

Which streaming services to keep and which to cancel for the month of November, based on fluctuating prices and what’s new to watch.

OK, we know, we know: This is the month Netflix launches its ad-based subscription for $7. But you only get one stream with that, and prices on the other plans are not changing. With that said, it’s a service you want to rock with this November for sure, especially with House of the Dragon, Rings of Power and She-Hulk already wrapped.

Every month you may wonder if you should cancel a streaming service to cut costs. And each month, I give advice on which ones to drop or keep during these difficult financial times. So, I’d like to offer one strategy: Churn like ice cream.

What does that mean? Subscribe for a term, cancel, switch to a different service, then resubscribe, keeping your favorites in a rotation. You can even pick one or two must-haves for the year and treat other streaming platforms like seasonal add-ons.The upside is that you get to save money when Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max and others don’t have the content you want to watch at a given time. Just remember to shut off autorenewal for your monthly subscriptions. Rotating may not be an option if you’re sharing your accounts with people outside your household, but if you can work out a system with your streaming posse, go for it.

Here are my recommendations on the streaming rotation you should have for November, primarily based on new TV shows and movies coming to each platform. Your tastes may differ, but if nothing else I urge you to at least consider the concept of rotating for savings. It’s easier than you might think.

Don’t let go of these streaming services in November

Netflix: Netflix has lots to offer this month. Animated flick The Bad Guys arrives on Nov. 1, but there are new releases galore. On Nov. 3, Blockbuster Season 1 arrives with Randall Park headlining the cast, and The Dragon Prince Season 4 drops as well. Enola Holmes 2, Manifest Season 4 part 1 and K-drama The Fabulous all land on Nov. 4. Then watch The Crown Season 5 starting Nov. 9 and Lindsay Lohan’s holiday movie Falling for Christmas on Nov. 10. Warrior Nun Season 2 also hits on Nov. 10.

Florence Pugh stars in The Wonder beginning Nov. 16, and the third and final season of Dead to Me debuts on Nov. 17. The ball keeps rolling with Elite Season 6 and Jason Momoa’s new film, Slumberland, on Nov. 18. Cap it off on Nov. 23 with Tim Burton’s Wednesday to see the Addams Family’s favorite daughter head to Nevermore Academy. Then follow up with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery starring Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc.

HBO Max: HBO Max is worth keeping if you’re a fan of The White Lotus. Season 2 has seven episodes that will air into December. Other notable releases this month include Titans Season 4 (Nov. 3) with Joseph Morgan from The Originals/Vampire Diaries debuting as Brother Blood. A Christmas Story Christmas — the sequel to the 1983 movie — premieres on Nov. 17, as well as season 2 of The Sex Lives of College Girls. On Nov. 1, all the Harry Potter movies and a collection of Star Trek films come to the streamer.

Disney Plus: Binge what you can on Disney Plus, especially if you plan to cancel in December when the ad-free plan shoots up to $11 per month. This month, Andor wraps its 12-episode run on Nov. 23, so you can binge the whole show after that date. Here’s what’s new: The Santa Clauses TV series (Nov. 16), Enchanted sequel Disenchanted finally drops Nov. 18, and an unmissable Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special arrives Nov. 25. Director James Gunn stated that the holiday film will serve as a prequel of sorts for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. After you watch it, you may want to check out The Hip Hop Nutcracker starring Run DMC’s Rev. Run.

Dancing With the Stars airs its live finale on Disney Plus on Nov. 21. And Willow, the sequel series to the 1988 fantasy movie, premieres on Nov. 30 with Warwick Davis reprising his role. The show will consist of eight episodes.

Prime Video: If you already get this service through your Prime membership, you may as well keep it. My Policeman starring Harry Styles will be free to stream for Prime members on Nov. 4. Catch Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Vol. 4 fashion show on Nov. 9. The English with Emily Blunt and Mammals starring James Corden are two new Prime Video series that premiere on Nov. 11.

You can cancel these services this month

Hulu: Cancel Hulu if you’re not into anime or network TV — or finishing up The Handmaid’s Tale, which ends season 5 on Nov. 9. As for new titles, God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty about Jerry Falwell arrives on Nov. 1. The dubbed version of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War premieres Nov. 4, and Welcome to Chippendales lands on Nov. 22. You can keep watching Chainsaw Man, Hulu’s new roster of holiday movies or broadcast shows from Fox, ABC, etc. if you like.

Starz: Raising Kanan and The Serpent Queen have ended their seasons. BMF won’t return until January 2023. Cancel Starz for now.

Paramount Plus: If you want to watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, it’ll be on this platform. New animated series, Transformers: EarthSpark debuts on Nov. 11. Other than that, Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King series — from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan — debuts Nov. 13 but it will also air right after Yellowstone on regular TV. Cancel unless you want to watch these shows or NFL football.

Peacock: Speaking of Yellowstone, if you were hoping to stream the season 5 premiere on Nov. 13 or right after, sorry to disappoint you. The show won’t be available on Peacock anytime soon. However, you can still watch sports like Sunday Night Football here.

Apple TV Plus: There are few new releases here, including the film Causeway with Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry and The Mosquito Coast Season 2, both arriving on Nov. 4. Mythic Quest Season 3 debuts Nov. 11. Because Mythic Quest and The Mosquito Coast have 10 episodes each, you can choose to binge both series next year when the entire seasons are available.

Save more money by being patient

If you’re not someone who routinely gets FOMO, then a smart method is to wait until the bulk or all episodes of your favorite series land on a platform. That way, rather than pay for a service for two or three months to cover the 6- to 10-week run of a show, you can catch up on everything by subscribing for one month. And then repeat the cycle again.

As an example, there are eight episodes of Willow this season on Disney Plus. The finale airs in January, so season 1 episodes will be available to stream at that time. Though it premieres on Nov. 30 and runs into 2023, why pay for all three months when you can wait to watch it in full anytime in January or February?

Think about how much you’re paying per month for each streaming service you have, and do the math. Netflix is $10 to $20, Disney Plus is anywhere from $3 to $8 depending on bundles, HBO Max costs $10 or $15, Hulu starts at $8 and Starz runs $9. The others have a base rate of $5 per month, and again, ad-free Disney Plus jumps to $11 starting in December. Should you decide to churn, set yourself a calendar reminder to alert you when it’s time to re-subscribe or cancel. We’ll see you next month for another streaming breakdown.

Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

Technologies

Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’

Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.

Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle

Technologies

Qualcomm tumbles 13% as semiconductor stocks retreat from historic AI-fueled surge

Semiconductor equities reversed sharply after a broad AI-driven advance, with Qualcomm suffering its worst day since 2020 amid inflation concerns and rising oil prices.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, reversing course after an extensive rally that had expanded the artificial intelligence investment theme well past Nvidia and driven the industry to unprecedented levels.

Qualcomm plunged 13% and was on track for its steepest single-day decline since 2020. Intel shed 8%, while On Semiconductor and Skyworks Solutions each lost more than 6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF, which benchmarks the overall sector, fell 5%.

The sell-off came after a key gauge of consumer prices came in above forecasts, and as conflict in Iran pushed crude oil higher—prompting investors to shift away from riskier assets.

The preceding advance had widened the AI opportunity set beyond longtime industry leader Nvidia, which for much of the past several years had largely carried the market to new peaks on its own.

Explosive appetite for central processing units, along with the graphics processing units that power large language models, has sent chipmakers to all-time highs.

Market participants are wagering that the shift from AI model training to autonomous agents will lift demand for additional AI hardware. Among the beneficiaries are memory chip producers, which are raising prices as supply remains tight.

Micron Technology slid 6%, and Sandisk cratered 8%. Sandisk’s stock has surged more than six times over since January.