It’s long been known that Game Pass is one of the best deals in gaming, but that view is changing fast for those who have heard the news that Microsoft is bumping the monthly price up an astonishing 50%, from $20 a month to $30 a month. That’s a big price hike, and one that’s likely going to turn some people off of it. However, with Prime Day deals available right now, it turns out you can get ahead of it and actually save a bit of money on the current price.

You can get your hands on a three-month membership for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on Amazon for $57. While this is only a 5% discount on the standard price at the moment, the price is changing soon, and you can potentially get a couple of these to cover you for the coming months. This deal won’t last long, so get it now to avoid missing out.

In the article about the price hike, CNET’s Zachary McAuliffe said, «Microsoft is likely hoping gamers appreciate having a larger gaming catalog and more choices. But depending on how much (or how little) time you have to game, the extra $10 a month for Ultimate may make you rethink your subscription.» I agree that this price hike, while coming with some extra benefits, may be a difficult pill to swallow.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

Several writers and editors of the CNET team, including me, have jumped on grabbing some of these codes while we still can. Amazon is bound to update these soon, and I don’t want to miss out on saving some money on a service that I genuinely use daily, but will struggle to justify at $30 a month. We also have several other Game Pass deals if you feel like trying a different level.

Why this deal matters

Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to a massive library of games and the ability to play a lot of those games streamed to your phone or tablet. It was a fantastic price when it came out at $15 a month and a good deal at $20 a month.

Is $30 still a good deal? I don’t know, but you can try and get ahead of it with these discounts. This may even end up being my pick for the best Prime Day deal without really even being a discount at all. 

If you’re planning a weekend getaway this fall, you might plan on using your iPhone’s Maps app for directions. But using the app for extended periods could eat up your monthly data. Thankfully, when Apple released iOS 17 in 2023, the tech giant brought offline maps to your iPhone. 

With offline maps, you can designate areas you want to download from your Maps app onto your iPhone to use in case of an emergency, or so the app doesn’t wreck your cellular data. Before you start using the feature, you may be wondering how well it works.

To find out, I downloaded a map of my hometown and used it to get around for a couple of days. My wife and I went to get coffee downtown before walking to an outdoor market, we drove back to our home and went back downtown for dinner after an NFL game ended. I also used offline maps to drive to and from my gym, as well as to walk my dog around the neighborhood.

Here’s how you can access offline maps and what to know about them before you set foot out the door.

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How to download offline maps

It can be a good idea to have a map of an unfamiliar area, like a new town or hiking path, in case you don’t have Wi-Fi access or a cell signal. Here’s how you can download a map to use offline.

1. Open Maps.
2. Use the Search Maps bar to find the area you want to download a map for.
3. Tap Download.

An outline will then appear over your map, which represents the area you’ll download a map for. You can resize this outline until you’re satisfied and then tap Download. A banner will announce when your map has finished downloading.

Here’s how you can access your offline maps settings page after you’ve downloaded them.

1. Open Maps. 
2. Tap your profile picture near the Search Maps bar.
3. Tap Offline Maps. 

From this menu, you can access all the maps you’ve downloaded, as well as settings for each map, like updates for the maps. You can also enable Automatic Updates for maps from this page.

There’s also an option for Only Use Offline Maps. If you enable this option on, you’ll see Using Offline Maps across the top of your map when you use it. The area of the map you downloaded will appear as normal while the area outside the map will have a grid over it. You can also tap the Using Offline Maps banner to get back to the offline maps settings page, too.

Offline maps will get you to your destination but expect a few issues

Using offline maps was similar to using the Maps app when online. You open your Maps app, type in where you want to go and hit Go. You can also select your mode of transportation and whether you want to add any stops along the way. 

When you’re on the road, offline maps act similarly to online maps. The map follows you and shows nearby restaurants and businesses. If you’re driving, offline maps will also show you the speed limit for the street you’re on. Siri will read out directions the whole way, telling you when to turn and where your destination is on the street.

There are a few differences between offline and online maps. The biggest issue is it won’t know exactly when you’ll get to your destination. When you look up directions, offline maps will display an estimated time of arrival but they can’t take into account real-time traffic patterns because it’s offline.

When I used offline maps to find my way to a downtown restaurant after an NFL game, for example, offline maps told me it would take me about 15 minutes to get to my destination. In reality, it ended up taking me about 40 minutes to fight through traffic and get to dinner. 

That leads to my second issue with offline maps: If you veer off its path, it takes a while to recalibrate and find you again. When getting through the traffic mentioned above, I took a few impromptu turns down side streets and offline maps still showed me where I turned off the path for a minute or so.

Otherwise, offline maps take things back to the days of physical maps. You may not be able to predict how much traffic will delay your drive and if you take a wrong turn it might take you a second to figure out how to get back, but you can get to your destination … eventually. Pack some snacks just in case.

For more iOS news, here’s my review of the iOS 26, how to reduce the Liquid Glass effects in the update and how text screening works in the update. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.

The batteries in the iPhone 17 series offer longer use before they need to be charged, especially the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which delivers «the best battery life of any phone that CNET has ever tested,» according to managing editor Patrick Holland in his review. That’s partially due to physically larger battery sizes — but that isn’t the whole story. 

A new software feature in iOS 26 called Adaptive Power also contributes to improved battery life. It’s enabled by default on Apple’s latest phones, but also available on older models that support Apple Intelligence.

Currently, the iPhone uses as much power as it needs to perform its tasks. You can extend the battery life by doing a number of things, such as decreasing screen brightness and turning off the always-on display. Or, if your battery is running low, you can turn on Low Power Mode, which limits background activity, like fetching mail and downloading data, along with dimming the screen to help extend battery life. Low Power Mode also kicks in automatically when the battery level reaches 20%.

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If Low Power Mode is the hammer that knocks down power consumption, Adaptive Power is the scalpel that intelligently trims energy savings here and there as needed. Based on Apple’s description that accompanies the control, the savings will be felt mostly in power-hungry situations such as recording videos, editing photos or even playing games:

Apple says Adaptive Power takes about a week to analyze your usage behavior before it begins actively working. And it works in the background without needing any management on your part. Here’s how Apple describes it in the iPhone user guide: «It uses on-device intelligence to predict when you’ll need extra battery power based on your recent usage patterns, then makes performance adjustments to help your battery last longer.»

Which iPhone models can use Adaptive Power?

The feature uses AI to monitor and choose when its power-saving measures should be activated, so that means only phones compatible with Apple Intelligence get the feature. These are the models that have the option:

• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

Although some iPad and Mac models support Apple Intelligence, the feature is only available on iPhones.

How to turn Adaptive Power on

On the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air, Adaptive Power is on by default. For other models, you must opt in to use it. In iOS 26, you’ll find the Adaptive Power toggle in Settings > Battery > Power Mode. If you want to be alerted when the feature is active, turn on the Adaptive Power Notifications option.

Adaptive Power sounds like an outgrowth of Gaming Mode, introduced in iOS 18, which routes all available processing and graphics power to the frontmost app and pauses other processes in order to deliver the best experience possible — at the notable expense of battery life.

What does this mean for your charging habits?

Although we all want as much battery life as possible all the time, judging by the description, it sounds as if Adaptive Power’s optimizations will not always be active, even if you leave the feature on. «When your battery usage is higher than usual» could include a limited number of situations. Still, considering that according to a CNET survey, 61% of people upgrade their phones because of battery life, a feature such as Adaptive Power could extend the longevity of their phones just by updating to iOS 26.

I also wonder whether slightly adjusting display brightness could be disruptive, but in my experience so far, it hasn’t been noticeable. Because the feature also selectively de-prioritizes processing tasks, the outward effects seem minimal. When it’s activated on my iPhone 16 Pro, the only indication was the Adaptive Power alert that appeared.

Read more: Adaptive Power in iOS 26 Could Save the iPhone 17 Air From This Major Pitfall

We’ll get a better idea about how well Adaptive Power works as more people adopt iOS 26 and start buying new iPhone models. Also, remember that shortly after installing a major software update, it’s common to experience worse battery life as the system optimizes data in the background; Apple went so far as to remind customers that it’s a temporary side effect.