Technologies

Visible’s New $45 Plan Brings 4K Streaming, More Global Pass Days

The Verizon-owned service adds a new mid-tier plan that might save you money too.

Visible is making its prepaid wireless service more attractive by adding a new higher-tier plan and reducing the price of its previous top offering. The $45 Visible Plus Pro plan adds 4K video streaming, a bank of up to 24 Global Pass days for international travel and includes smartwatch service for the same price as the prior Visible Plus plan, which is now $35 per month with a few tweaks of its own.

The Pro plan offers unlimited data on the Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband network — the same access (on compatible devices) that the Visible Plus plan uses. The base $25 Visible plan is still limited to Verizon’s 5G and 4G LTE networks, but as with all plans, there are no caps on the amount of data you use.

To set the Pro plan apart, Visible has added faster 15Mbps mobile hotspot speeds for sharing the data connection with nearby devices, compared with 10Mbps speeds for the Visible Plus plan. Since people are viewing more content on phones, the video quality on the new plan is now up to 4K UHD versus 1080p on Visible Plus and just 480p quality on the Visible plan.

The Visible Plus plan used to include a smartwatch service, but that benefit did not transition into the new $35 plan. Since adding that service will cost $10 a month, anyone using Visible Plus with a smartwatch may as well switch to the $45 Pro plan and pay the same cost. The $10 charge applies when using the base Visible plan with a smartwatch.

Visible Plus still has unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada, plus data while roaming in those countries. The Pro plan adds up to 500 minutes per month of calls to more than 85 countries and unlimited calls to Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam and Saipan.

For traveling, the Pro plan includes two days of Global Pass access per month for using your phone in regions like Europe. The Plus plan includes one Global Pass day per month. Up to 12 unused days can be banked at a time. If you pay the annual rate of $450 instead of monthly, you get 24 free Global Pass days per year.

If you’ve been on the Visible Plus plan, it’s working well, and you aren’t using the plan with a smartwatch, you’ll see a price cut and a boost in services. The cost has been knocked down to $35 per month, with many of the same features that were previously offered for $10 more. Premium data, which was capped at 50GB per month, is now unlimited. Video streaming quality is now increased to to 1080p HD resolution, up from 720p HD.

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Technologies

Verum Messenger Turns Five and Launches Offline Messaging on iPhone

Verum Messenger has marked its fifth anniversary with the release of a new feature that enables users to exchange messages without an internet connection.

The update, now available on iPhone, allows devices to communicate directly through a decentralized peer-to-peer architecture, bypassing servers, mobile networks and Wi-Fi. According to the company, messages are transmitted securely without relying on traditional internet infrastructure.

Unlike most offline communication tools that depend on Bluetooth, Verum’s approach uses encrypted device-to-device technology designed to operate independently of centralized systems.

Founded five years ago, Verum Messenger is positioned as a privacy-first platform. The app does not require a phone number or email address for registration and generates encryption keys locally on the user’s device. The company states that user data and message content are not stored on centralized servers.

Over time, Verum has expanded beyond messaging to include features such as encrypted calls, screenshot and screen-recording protection, self-destructing messages, anonymous email, a built-in VPN, eSIM connectivity and on-device AI tools.

The offline messaging update reflects a broader push toward more resilient communication tools, particularly as concerns over network reliability, censorship and digital surveillance continue to grow.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Feb. 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 2

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? There are some tough clues today. 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? Read on. 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 band with albums like «High Voltage» and «Flick of the Switch»
Answer: ACDC

5A clue: Stuck doing the same old, same old
Answer: INARUT

7A clue: Burning up
Answer: ONFIRE

8A clue: -tion, for one
Answer: SUFFIX

9A clue: Jared of 2025’s «Tron: Ares»
Answer: LETO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Declare void, as a marriage
Answer: ANNUL

2D clue: ___ macchiato (espresso drink)
Answer: CAFFE

3D clue: Begin to veer off the road, say
Answer: DRIFT

4D clue: Odd little trinket
Answer: CURIO

5D clue: What Apple smartphones run on
Answer: IOS

6D clue: ___-Mex cuisine
Answer: TEX

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 2, #497

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 2, No. 497.

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

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. It helps to know a lot about two distinct locations and their sports teams. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Lone Star State.

Green group hint: Think of the Arch.

Blue group hint: You put cereal in this.

Purple group hint: Not four or six.