Connect with us

Technologies

June Is Busy for Streaming Services. Let’s Help You Decide Which Ones to Keep

Avatar swoops in, and you may not want to cancel Netflix if you’re a fan of Henry Cavill in The Witcher.

If there’s one month during the summer you want to have the big three streaming services — Netflix, Max and Disney Plus — on your roster, it’s June. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still consider your wallet, especially if you may now be paying for extra people to use your Netflix account.

Avatar: The Way of Water hits Disney Plus and Max (formerly HBO Max) on the same day, and Manifest, Black Mirror and The Witcher all return to Netflix. Though AMC Plus isn’t on this list, The Walking Dead: Dead City debuts with Negan front and center. It’s time to get your favorite streamers in order. 

Every month you may want to weigh whether to cancel a streaming service because of the content that’s currently available and how much you’re paying for each service. I want to offer one strategy: Churn like butter.

What does that mean? Subscribe, cancel, roll with a different platform, then resubscribe. Rotating services as needed helps save money when Netflix, Disney Plus, 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. Churning may not be an option if you’re sharing your accounts with people outside your household, of course. But if you can work out an arrangement with your streaming partners, go for it. 

Here are my recommendations for which streamers to keep or cancel for June, based on new shows and movies (I didn’t consider sports and live TV streaming services) arriving on each platform. Naturally, your tastes may be different, but if nothing else, I urge you to at least consider the concept of rotating for savings. It’s easier than you might think.

Read more: Best Streaming Services of 2023

Streaming Service Rotation June 2023

Keep Cancel
Disney Plus X
Netflix X
Apple TV Plus X
Max X
Starz X
Hulu X
Paramount Plus X
Prime Video X
Peacock X

Hold on to Disney Plus, Netflix and Max

Disney Plus: If you didn’t catch it in theaters, Avatar: The Way of Water lands on June 7. Marvel also rules with a new Stan Lee documentary (June 16) and the premiere of Secret Invasion on June 21.

Netflix: It’s time to say goodbye to a few shows in June, including Manifest. Here are the standouts on Netflix this month:

  • Manifest, season 4, part 2 (June 2)
  • Arnold (a documentary on Arnold Schwarzenegger, June 7)
  • Never Have I Ever, season 4 (June 8)
  • Bloodhounds (K-drama, June 9)
  • Human Resources, season 3 (June 9)
  • Black Mirror, season 6 (June 15)
  • Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King (anime, June 16)
  • Extraction 2 (June 16)
  • The Witcher, season 3, volume 1 (June 29)
  • Nimona (June 30)

Max: One week after revamping HBO Max to Max and adding more Discovery Plus content, the platform has a few notable debuts for its June slate.

  • Magic Mike’s Last Dance (June 2)
  • The Idol (controversial new series starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd, June 4)
  • Avatar: The Way of Water (June 7)
  • The Righteous Gemstones, season 3 (June 18)
  • Downey’s Dream Cars (June 22)
  • Warrior, season 3 (June 29)

There’s also TNT’s AEW All Access (June 9), a new season of We Baby Bears (June 18) and 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days (June 4).

Hulu: Two years after a successful first installment, the second season of Cruel Summer arrives June 6. The Flamin’ Hot movie dives into the true story of Richard Montañez on June 9, but you can also stream it on Disney Plus. Other Hulu releases include The Wonder Years, season 2 (June 15) and The Bear, season 2 (June 22).

Starz: Outlander, season 7 is here on June 16, and fans won’t want to miss out. Right now, there’s a special deal where you can get Starz for $5 per month for three months.

Consider canceling these services in June

Prime Video: If you don’t already have Prime Video, I suggest waiting to sign up in July as the buzziest titles hit around the end of June and into July. Of course, if you already receive access through your Prime membership, don’t worry about canceling the streaming app. Here’s a sample of what’s coming: Dead Loch (June 2), I’m a Virgo (June 23) and Jack Ryan, season 4 (June 30). 

Peacock: The entire eight-episode season of Based on a True Story, starring Chris Messina and Kaley Cuoco, will post on June 8. You may want to cancel Peacock after a binge unless you’re a fan of Days of Our Lives, sports and Bravo’s reality shows.

Paramount Plus: New releases include iCarly, season 3 (June 3) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, season 2 (June 15). If you prefer, you can skip the platform this month and wait to binge these shows in a few weeks.

Apple TV Plus: Ted Lasso just ended on May 31, so do you really want to keep Apple TV Plus? If you do, Idris Elba’s new series, Hijack, debuts June 28, and Silo’s finale airs on June 30. Otherwise, cancel the service for now.

woman sit with palms extended as man sits next her looking perplexed woman sit with palms extended as man sits next her looking perplexed

Binge all of Based on a True Story on Peacock with Kaley Cuoco, then chop the streamer.

Peacock/NBC Universal

Save more cash by waiting

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 six- to 10-week run of a show, you can catch up on everything by subscribing for one month. And then repeat the cycle.

man dressed in black trench coat wearing an eye patch looks off to the side man dressed in black trench coat wearing an eye patch looks off to the side

You could wait to watch Nick Fury and the Skrulls if you’re patient. 

Marvel Studios/Disney Plus

For example, there will be eight episodes of Secret Invasion on Disney Plus. The finale drops in August, so all episodes of Marvel’s show will be available to stream at that time. Though it premieres on June 21 and runs through August, save yourself three months of fees by waiting to stream it in full anytime in August or September. You can do the same thing with Cruel Summer on Hulu or the nine-episode run for The Righteous Gemstones on Max.

Note how much you’re paying per month for each streaming service, and do the math. Apple TV Plus is $7. Netflix is $7 to $20 (plus fees for extra members), Disney Plus is anywhere from $2 to $11 depending on bundles, Max costs $10 to $20, Hulu starts at $8 and Starz runs $9. The others have a base rate of $5 per month (for now). Should you decide to churn, set yourself a calendar reminder to alert you when it’s time to resubscribe or cancel. We’ll see you in July for another streaming rundown. 

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Feb. 28

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 28.

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.


Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? As is usual for Saturday, it’s pretty long, and should take you longer than the normal Mini. A bunch of three-initial terms are used in this one. Read on for all 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.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Rock’s ___ Leppard
Answer: DEF

4A clue: Cry a river
Answer: SOB

7A clue: Clean Air Act org.
Answer: EPA

8A clue: Org. that pays the Bills?
Answer: NFL

9A clue: Nintendo console with motion sensors
Answer: WII

10A clue: ___-quoted (frequently said)
Answer: OFT

11A clue: With 13-Across, narrow gap between the underside of a house and the ground
Answer: CRAWL

13A clue: See 11-Across
Answer: SPACE

14A clue: Young lady
Answer: GAL

15A clue: Ooh and ___
Answer: AAH

17A clue: Sports org. for Scottie Scheffler
Answer: PGA

18A clue: «Hey, just an F.Y.I. …,» informally
Answer: PSA

19A clue: When doubled, nickname for singer Swift
Answer: TAY

20A clue: Socially timid
Answer: SHY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Morning moisture
Answer: DEW

2D clue: «Game of Thrones» or Homer’s «Odyssey»
Answer: EPICSAGA

3D clue: Good sportsmanship
Answer: FAIRPLAY

4D clue: White mountain toppers
Answer: SNOWCAPS

5D clue: Unrestrained, as a dog at a park
Answer: OFFLEASH

6D clue: Sandwich that might be served «triple-decker»
Answer: BLT

12D clue: Common battery type
Answer: AA

14D clue: Chat___
Answer: GPT

16D clue: It’s for horses, in a classic joke punchline
Answer: HAY

Continue Reading

Technologies

Ultrahuman Ring Pro Brings Better Battery Life, More Action and Analysis

The company’s new flagship smart ring stores more data, too. But that doesn’t really help Americans.

Sick of your smart ring’s battery not holding up? Ultrahuman’s new $479 Ring Pro smart ring, unveiled on Friday, offers up to 15 days of battery life on a single charge. The Ring Pro joins the company’s $349 Ring Air, which boosts health tracking, thanks to longer battery life, increased data storage, improved speed and accuracy and a new heart-rate sensing architecture. The ring works in conjunction with the latest Pro charging case. 

Ultrahuman also launched its Jade AI, which can act as an agent based on analysis of current and historical health data. Jade can synthesize data from across the company’s products and is compatible with its Rings.

«With industry-leading hardware paired with Jade biointelligence AI, users can now take real-time actionable interventions towards their health than ever before,» said Mohit Kumar, CEO of Ultrahuman.

No US sales

That hardware isn’t available in the US, though, thanks to the ongoing ban on Ultrahuman’s Rings sales here, stemming from a patent dispute with its competitor, Oura Ring. It’s available for preorder now everywhere else and is slated to ship in March. Jade’s available globally.

Ultrahuman says the Ring Pro boosts battery life to about 15 days in Chill mode — up to 12 days in Turbo — compared to a maximum of six days for the Air. The Pro charger’s battery stores enough for another 45 days, which you top off with Qi-compatible wireless charging. In addition, the case incorporates locator technology via the app and a speaker, as well as usability features such as haptic notifications and a power LED.

The ring can also retain up to 250 days of data versus less than a week for the cheaper model. Ultrahuman redesigned the heart-rate sensor for better signal quality. An upgraded processor improves the accuracy of the local machine learning and overall speed. 

It’s offered in gold, silver, black and titanium finishes, with available sizes ranging from 5 to 14.

Jade’s Deep Research Mode is the cross-ecosystem analysis feature, which aggregates data from Ring and Blood Vision and the company’s subscription services, Home and M1 CGM, to provide historical trends, offer current recommendations and flag potential issues, as well as trigger activities such as A-fib detection. Ultrahuman plans to expand its capabilities to include health-adjacent activities, such as ordering food.

Some new apps are also available for the company’s PowerPlug add-on platform, including capabilities such as tracking GLP-1 effects, snoring and respiratory analysis and migraine management tools.

Continue Reading

Technologies

The FCC Just Approved Charter’s $34.5B Cox Purchase. Here’s What It Means for 37M Customers

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Verum World Media