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

YouTubers Sue Amazon, Claim AI Tool Was Trained on Scraped Videos

The lawsuit alleges that Amazon bypassed YouTube protections to collect content for its generative AI video system.

A group of YouTube creators is suing Amazon, accusing the tech giant of secretly scraping their videos to train its AI video model without permission.

The proposed class action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Seattle, alleges Amazon used automated tools to download and extract data from millions of YouTube videos to build and improve its Nova Reel generative AI system — a model that can create short videos from text prompts and images.

At the center of the complaint is how that data was obtained. The plaintiffs claim that Amazon bypassed YouTube’s protections using virtual machines and rotating IP addresses to avoid detection, effectively sidestepping the platform’s safeguards against bulk downloading.

The lawsuit was brought by several creators, including Ted Entertainment (the company behind the H3 Podcast and h3h3 Productions), as well as individual YouTubers and channel operators. They argue that the alleged scraping violated copyright law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and are seeking damages as well as an injunction to stop the practice.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

The case lands at a pivotal moment for generative AI, as courts weigh whether training on copyrighted material qualifies as fair use and how much control creators retain once their work is used to build these systems. The disputes have often centered on written material, which has been at the center of the AI revolution for several years, while AI video generators such as OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo have emerged more recently.

The lawsuit is one of dozens testing the boundaries of AI training practices, alongside high-profile cases from authors, artists and news organizations, including lawsuits against OpenAI and Meta, all circling the same unresolved question: Where does fair use end and infringement begin?

Technologies

The Galaxy Z TriFold Is Back. You Can Buy It From Samsung Soon

The $2,899 phone paused its sales in March after selling through its inventory, but Samsung is bringing it back to its online store.

Samsung’s $2,899 Galaxy Z TriFold is going back on sale on Friday, following a halt to its sales in March after the foldable phone sold through its inventory. Samsung has announced the TriFold’s return with a countdown clock on the phone’s online store page along with a Wednesday newsletter email sent to customers.

The initial pause, which Samsung said at the time was related to the TriFold being a «super-premium device in limited quantities,» happened after just three months of availability. The TriFold first went on sale in South Korea on Dec. 12 and then arrived in Samsung’s US store on Jan. 30. The TriFold sold out in the US within minutes of going on sale — which I know personally after joining my colleagues that morning in an attempt to buy it. Thankfully Senior Reporter Abrar Al-Heeti succeeded, and then reviewed the TriFold.

It’s unclear whether the Galaxy Z TriFold is now permanently returning to Samsung’s online store or if it is again on sale until its stock sells through. Given that the phone is very expensive, and unfolds to reveal a large, 10-inch display, it wouldn’t be surprising if its stock will be in limited quantities. We’ve asked a Samsung representative to clarify and will update if we hear more.

The Galaxy Z TriFold’s return also comes ahead of the summer season when we expect a slew of other foldable phones: Samsung typically refreshes its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip line in July or August, and Motorola has announced its first book-style Razr Fold phone will also debut during the season. And Apple’s rumored iPhone Fold (or perhaps iPhone Ultra based on latest rumors) could also be teased later this year.

Technologies

Help Us Crown the Most Loved Headphones and Earbuds of 2026

Got a pair you swear by? Take our People’s Picks survey to help us find a winner.

CNET just launched People’s Picks, a series of surveys where actual humans like you vote for the products and services you use. Starting in April, we want you to weigh in on your favorite headphones and earbuds. We’ll pick a winner based on which ones you love the most.

Why we want to hear from you

Our writers and editors test hundreds of products each year, but your real-world experience with these devices is something we can’t replicate in our labs. You’ve used these headphones at the gym, on your commute to work and on long flights, and that perspective is invaluable. Your voice helps others know about the headphones or earbuds you love, too.

«I review a lot of headphones and earbuds for CNET, and there are plenty of great models from the top brands in this survey that I rate highly. I’m always curious about what models people ultimately choose and why, so I’m excited to get your feedback and learn the results of this survey,» says David Carnoy, CNET’s executive editor and headphones expert.

With our survey, we’ll collect answers from real-world users like you. The headphones and earbuds chosen through our 3-minute survey will be featured in our People’s Picks roundup of the top picks based on your recommendation.

Make your voice heard

Whether you swear by a pair of $25 earbuds or love a pair of high-end headphones, your pick counts. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete, and after we gather enough information, we’ll tally the results and publish the winners.

Not sure what to pick? Check out our Best Headphones to revisit your favorites before voting.