Technologies

Trade In Your Old Phone and Get a Free iPhone 17 Pro With T-Mobile

Tired of squinting through a cracked screen? Get the new iPhone 17 Pro on T-Mobile for free, whether you’re a new customer or already with T-Mobile.

By now you’ve certainly heard about the new iPhone 17 Pro. Even more likely, you want one, maybe even in the new Cosmic Orange color that has everyone talking. But who can afford to spend $1,099 or more on a new phone these days?

Fret not, iPhone fans: T-Mobile is offering a new iPhone 17 Pro for free when you trade in any phone in any condition, as long as you’re on the Experience Beyond plan. If you’re currently with another carrier or on another T-Mobile plan, you can switch to the Experience Beyond plan and still score the free iPhone 17 Pro.

T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond plan is loaded with freebies. In addition to the unlimited talk, texts, data, hotspot and satellite services included with the plan, you get Netflix, Apple TV Plus and Hulu streaming for free. Globetrotters will like the unlimited texts and up to 30GB of data in over 200 countries, plus free in-flight Wi-Fi and texting. The monthly price ($105 for one line, $100 with autopay) is also guaranteed for five years, a relief in these times.

Check out the specs of the new iPhone 17 Pro and get with the plan.

A new aluminum chassis and bold design

The iPhone 17 Pro is built with an aluminum unibody chassis that’s lightweight, strong and handles heat better than its titanium predecessors. It might measure just 8.75mm thick and weigh 7.27 ounces, but it feels like a dense brick in your hand.

As for the new design, the iPhone 17 Pro is a looker. While previous iPhone versions have an all-glass back, the iPhone 17 Pro has a contrasting aluminum and glass back, which gives it a graphic, retro effect. The front is also covered by the latest version of Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says is three times more scratch-resistant. If the iPhone or Android phone you’re trading in has scratches all over its screen, your new iPhone 17 Pro should remain scratch-free for longer.

Lastly, there’s the new color trio. The iPhone 17 Pro’s lineup doesn’t include black, only a dreamy Deep Blue, a Silver and a vibrant Cosmic Orange.

A breakthrough battery and a new selfie camera

You know that square camera bump on the back of the old iPhones? It’s now a rectangular bar that runs across the back of the iPhone 17 Pro. This reconfiguration frees up space for what’s perhaps the iPhone 17 Pro’s top flex, the largest battery ever on an iPhone. You’ll get 33 hours of video playback on the iPhone 17 Pro; that’s 10 more hours than the 15 Pro, Apple says. CNET has also touted the possibilities of the bigger battery.

That same bar also houses three 48MP rear cameras. The telephoto lens, in particular, features a new 8X optical zoom. That’s double the zoom of the 16 Pro and a score for parents trying to zero in on their kid’s soccer game from the bleachers.

All of the iPhone 17 Pro’s front-facing shooters have been upgraded from 12 to 18 megapixels and there’s even a new selfie camera that will seriously uplevel your socials. The «Center Stage» lens keeps the focus on whoever’s holding the phone, even while you’re moving around.

The iPhone 17 Pro runs cool, even with its new chip

The iPhone 17 Pro comes with the blazing A19 Pro chip, which Apple claims is 40% faster than the one used in the 16 series. You can go full-throttle shooting videos, gaming and streaming with this chipset and not overheat, thanks to a new vapor-cooling chamber and the thermally conductive aluminum unibody.

Topping it off, the iPhone 17 Pro comes loaded with iOS 26 and its cutting-edge features, including Liquid Glass and the taffy-like control panel pull-down.

If you’re coveting the slick new iPhone 17 Pro but don’t want to spend the money, sign up for T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond plan and you’ll get a new iPhone 17 Pro for free with any phone trade-in.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, March 11

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 11.

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? I thought it was a bit tricky. 1-Down is one of those old-fashioned comic-book sounds that I had to remember how to spell correctly. 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: Study of the human mind, informally
Answer: PSYCH

6A clue: Common fixture in a gym bathroom
Answer: SCALE

7A clue: Kinda boring
Answer: HOHUM

8A clue: Like a commenter without a username, for short
Answer: ANON

9A clue: «All good between us?»
Answer: WEOK

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Old-fashioned «Yeah, right!»
Answer: PSHAW

2D clue: Coffeehouse pastry
Answer: SCONE

3D clue: Google alternative
Answer: YAHOO

4D clue: Sound of a dull thump
Answer: CLUNK

5D clue: Line on the bottom of a pant leg
Answer: HEM

Technologies

OnePlus and Oppo to Raise Smartphone Prices as Memory Costs Climb

Oppo says rising costs for key phone components will trigger price adjustments on some devices starting March 16.

Chinese smartphone-makers OnePlus and Oppo plan to raise prices on some existing models starting next week, according to a 9to5Google report citing GizmoChina and a notice posted on Oppo’s China online store.

In its notice, Oppo said it would adjust pricing after evaluating rising costs for several key components used in its mobile phones. The changes are expected to take effect around March 16 and will affect some of the company’s more affordable smartphones, as well as some OnePlus models.

Flagship devices — like those in the Find and Reno series — are not expected to be affected for now. The reported adjustments currently appear to be limited to China.

The move highlights growing pressure across the smartphone supply chain as component costs climb. Analysts say prices for memory and storage chips used in phones have been rising in recent months as demand surges across the tech industry.

Much of the chip demand is coming from the rapid buildout of AI data centers, which rely on large amounts of high-performance memory.

That pressure isn’t limited to Oppo and OnePlus. Analysts say smartphone brands across the industry are facing rising component costs amid increased demand for memory chips.

As manufacturers shift production toward higher-margin memory used in AI servers, supply for consumer electronics such as smartphones and laptops can tighten.

If component costs continue to rise, manufacturers may face difficult choices later this year, including raising retail prices or adjusting device specifications to offset higher manufacturing costs.

OnePlus and Oppo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Harvard Business Review Study Finds ‘AI Brain Fry’ Is Leaving Workers Mentally Fatigued

Study participants reported increased mental fatigue while using AI tools, but less burnout overall.

Workers who excessively use AI agents and tools at work are at increased risk of mental fatigue, according to a recent Harvard Business Review study. In certain industries, more than 25% of hired professionals report increased mental strain due to their role in AI oversight — though these professionals also generally experienced less burnout than peers who aren’t using AI.

This phenomenon — which the researchers refer to as «AI brain fry» — is described as a «‘buzzing’ feeling or a mental fog» that caused study participants to develop headaches and difficulty focusing and making decisions. Individuals pointed to being overwhelmed by large amounts of information and to frequent task switching as the reasons for these feelings.

Studied individuals experienced more brain fry when they utilized AI agents to manage a workload beyond their own cognitive capacity. When participants used AI to replace mundane, repetitive tasks, managing the growing number of tools led to increased mental fatigue.

Crucially, the study found that fewer individuals who used these AI agents reported workplace burnout.

The researchers predict that this is because burnout testing assesses emotional and physical distress. In contrast, they report, acute mental fatigue «is caused by marshalling attention, working memory and executive control beyond the limited capacity of these systems.»

These are the processes that are taxed when study participants use multiple AI tools in their workflow, according to the researchers.

The Harvard study identifies several business costs incurred by workers suffering from AI brain fry. The foremost consequence is that these individuals may end up making lower-quality decisions. «Workers in [the] study who endorsed AI brain fry experience 33% more decision fatigue than those who did not,» the study reports. Workers who report AI brain fry were also more likely to self-report making both minor and major errors at their jobs.

Another recent Harvard Business Review study similarly found that employees who use AI tools «worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks and extended work into more hours of the day,» but warned that «workload creep can in turn lead to cognitive fatigue, burnout and weakened decision-making.»