Technologies
Is Disney Plus With Ads Worth it?
I tested it for a week, and it may not be so bad for those people willing to spend $11.

When it first debuted in 2019 for $8 a month, Disney Plus was considered a great value for its commercial-free access to Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and the legendary Disney vault. To top that off, you can stream on four screens at a time. Though there were some major titles missing at launch for US customers, the streaming service has since become a major player.
On Dec. 8, Disney rolled out its Disney Plus Basic plan, which costs $8 per month and includes ads but no downloads. The ad-free version is now $11, but can also select from three Disney bundles. Disney owns a majority stake in Hulu, so you may wonder if Disney Plus ads play in a similar format.
I tried it out, and I can assure you it’s a different experience than Hulu’s. But I’ll note that sometimes the commercials interrupt what you’re watching at odd intervals during a scene.
For many of you, paying $11 per month to stream without ads may be worth the cost for you and your family. Here’s a rundown of what I learned while testing the new subscription plan and what you might want to consider.
Read more: Best Streaming Services for Kids
There are ads in Disney Plus kids’ content, but not all of it
When I tried Netflix with ads, I noticed there were no commercials on kids’ titles, and Disney Plus seems to be doing that for some children’s content. Though ads played during the animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid film, Rodrick Rules, there were no commercials in Bluey episodes. Encanto, however, had a preroll of ads as well as three commercial breaks during the movie. I streamed all three on an adult profile.
If you have a child’s profile set to «Junior Mode,» Disney Plus reduces the number of available titles. This applies to ad-supported and ad-free subscriptions. There are only 26 animated films you can stream on this profile type, and it excludes the most popular features, such as Encanto, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Lightyear and even the 1950 animated version of Cinderella (which is rated G). While the limited number of TV series and movies available in Junior Mode are ad-free, you will probably want to adjust the parental controls so your kids can watch more.
Toggle off Junior Mode and change the content rating on the child profile to enable additional titles, including PG-13 and TV-14. Cinderella will be restored along with other Disney favorites like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coco. However, many of these family-friendly releases have commercials, so count on sitting through a few ad breaks while watching Encanto, Descendants, Finding Dory and more. That’s the trade-off that could make or break this subscription option for you.
Sometimes ads won’t play
I found that when watching some shows, not all the ads would play. Disney Plus typically plays a preroll of ads before a show or movie begins that lasts either 30 or 45 seconds, and then additional ad breaks are shown on the progress bar. While watching the new Rodrick Rules movie, I sat through the preroll and then noted two commercial breaks set to play in the middle. I only watched the first set of commercials. The second break came about 30 minutes in, but for some reason, it was skipped as the movie played.
Finding Dory had three commercial breaks embedded in the middle of the film, but the second and third ad breaks were skipped. I did fast-forward through this film a few times, so I’m unsure if that affected commercial playback.
The frequency of ads varies
Like Netflix, the number of commercial breaks in a Disney Plus movie or TV show varies, but the length of each break averaged one minute. You can tell how many ad breaks are coming up by looking for dots on the progress bar. Home Alone had three ad breaks in the middle of its 1-hour, 44-minute runtime. All three lasted for one minute. 2018’s Black Panther only had one commercial break after the preroll, and it was for 60 seconds. And the aforementioned Rodrick Rules aired 60 seconds’ worth of commercials during its first break.
Encanto, which is a little over an hour and 50 minutes long, had three, one-minute commercial breaks after its preshow set of ads. The 44-minute Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special had two ad breaks in the middle after the preroll. One was 20 seconds long and the other didn’t play, and I did not pause or fast-forward through this movie.
In addition to a preroll, there were two 60-second ad breaks in a single 54-minute episode of Willow. I played two episodes of The Simpsons and each had a 23-minute run time. One had a 30-second set of commercials before the episode and two ad breaks during the show which lasted one minute each. The other episode had a 45-second pre-roll and two 60-second commercial breaks.
Zootopia Plus, a new animated Disney Plus series, had a short set of commercials before its nine-minute episode, but zero ads during the show. Maybe because it’s rated PG for «alcohol, implied language and kidnapping of a character»? PJ Masks, on the other hand, didn’t have any commercials at all — just like Bluey.
When compared to its rivals, Disney Plus does things differently. In one test, Hulu showed about five minutes’ worth of commercials in one 22-minute episode of Bob’s Burgers. HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death has episodes that run for about 30 minutes. The platform ran one 25-second round of ads at the start of the show, and two more ad breaks for about 30 to 45 seconds each. Netflix shared that it airs roughly four to five minutes of ads per hour of content, and during my test, many of the commercial breaks lasted for 75 seconds each. Disney Plus is averaging about 2.5 minutes of ads per piece of content.
As far as the types of ads, there were spots for Nintendo Switch, Lego, Panera, Dior, IHG Hotels, Toyota, Barbie, Macy’s and other major brands. There was even an ad about RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). You can’t fast-forward during an ad break, and unlike Hulu, there are no random prompts asking you to select what types of ads you prefer to see.
Oh, you can’t stream Disney Plus Basic on Roku
If your go-to media player is a Roku, you’re out of luck for now when it comes to signing up for this subscription plan. According to Disney’s help center, the following ad-supported Disney Plus subscriptions are currently unavailable on Roku devices: Disney Plus Basic, Disney Bundle Duo Basic and Trio Basic. This is likely to change sometime in the future, however. For now, viewers have the option to use a different streaming device or sign up for an ad-free plan instead. I didn’t encounter any issues when streaming on a FireTV device, smart TV, Apple TV box, Chromecast, iPad or PC web browser. Your mileage may vary.
Skip this subscription if you’d rather avoid ads for your kids
The biggest question comes down to whether you prefer that your children can stream anything they want without any commercials. Junior Mode is all ad-free, but it’s missing so many titles — both animated and live-action — that kids love. Classics like Pinocchio, Cinderella and The Little Mermaid will at least play commercials before the movie begins, and may or may not feature ads in the middle of the program. The same goes for other family-friendly releases like Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Aladdin or Pirates of the Caribbean.
Some of you may find the ad-based experience similar to watching the Disney Channel on cable and don’t mind it. But not everyone is on board with that just to save $3. Though the price is now bumped up to $11 monthly for ad-free Disney Plus, you may want to stick with it so everyone in your household can enjoy watching without commercials.
Technologies
RFK Jr. Announces All Americans Need Health Tracking Devices: Here Are the Pros and Cons
The US Health Secretary plans a huge campaign to encourage health wearables: CNET knows exactly the kind of devices he’s talking about, and why accuracy may be a problem.

Many Americans already track health statistics like heart rate and sleep cycles on app-connected accessories. Now the federal government wants to jump in. On June 24, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced «one of the largest HHS campaigns in history» to encourage the use of wearables to track health conditions, a trend CNET has recently covered.
Kennedy is referring to the many different bands, watches and even clothes that use technology to track human vital signs. CNET’s reviewers have spent years testing devices like these, seeing how rings monitor health signs, straps track your heart health and the right devices lead to better sleep.
The latest version of the Apple Watch, for example, has sensors designed to detect heart rate, heart rhythm issues, falls, sleep health, sleep apnea, temperature, breathing rate and more. The newest Oura Ring can track sleep patterns, menstrual cycles, temperature, heart rate and other health details.
«We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda, Making America Healthy Again ,» Kennedy told the Subcommittee on Health during its budget meeting. «My vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years … they can see what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates and a number of other metrics as they eat it.»
Kennedy also tweeted that «wearables put the power of health back in the hands of the American people.»
«Wearables,» however, is a broad term encompassing everything from fitness devices that count steps to sleep trackers you wear at night. And consumer devices can’t easily replace monitoring solutions offered by medical professionals.
For example, CNET has covered research indicating that even the best-in-class Apple Watch struggles with accuracy from metrics like steps to heart rate. Another study from California State Polytechnic University has shown that fitness-related Fitbit trackers show high inaccuracies as well. In fact, that research was used in a related Fitbit lawsuit.
Speaking of glucose monitors, Kennedy isn’t the only White House official with an interest in such health sensors. The administration’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, co-founded glucose-monitoring company Levels and sells a monitoring app as well as other wellness products.
Finally, CNET wellness experts remind everyone that wearables aren’t always a good fit. Those suffering from eating disorders or body image issues should always talk to an expert before using wearables, as they can exacerbate certain issues or lead to a unhelpful outlook.
The US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Technologies
What’s Included in Xbox Game Pass? Here’s Everything You Need to Know
Check out the pros and cons of each Game Pass tier, and how much each costs.

Editors’ Note: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offers a slew of benefits, including a massive game library, diverse device support and both PC and console games. Nifty features like the ability to play on smart TVs, phones, tablets and PCs — not just consoles — make this a convenient gaming subscription service for a wide range of people. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs less than the price of a new game each month, yet gives access to hundreds of titles, which is why it earned a CNET Editors’ Choice Award. The original article follows.
New AAA video games used to cost $50 apiece, but it’s not unusual to see a similar game cost $70 now. That price might make you pause before you buy the game, but with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you could play a brand-new game, and others, for a fraction of the price.
Microsoft launched Game Pass in 2017, and since then, the gaming service has grown to be one of the best values for gamers. All Game Pass plans offer member discounts for non-Game Pass titles and other perks, but figuring out which plan is right for you can be difficult.
That choice can be especially tough after Microsoft removed its Game Pass Console plan and replaced it with Game Pass Standard. The company also increased the price of Game Pass Ultimate from $17 to $20 a month.
I’ve covered the service in the past, including future releases and whether Game Pass Ultimate will save you money compared with buying single games. And with all the new titles Microsoft announced would be joining the service as Day 1 releases, like the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages, you might be wondering what the difference is between different Game Pass plans.
Here’s what you need to know about the Game Pass plans so you can decide which one is right for your needs.
Xbox Game Pass tiers
Game Pass Core | Game Pass PC | Game Pass Standard | Game Pass Ultimate | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 releases | No | Yes | No | Yes |
PC games | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Online multiplayer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
EA Play | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Cloud Gaming | No | Yes (select games via GeForce Now Ultimate) | No | Yes (via Xbox Cloud Gaming and select games via GeForce Now Ultimate) |
Monthly price | $10 | $12 | $15 | $20 |
For more on Xbox, here’s what was announced at Gamescom, some titles available on Game Pass Ultimate right now and everything to know about that gaming service.
Technologies
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