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Best Streaming Service Deals From T-Mobile, Verizon and More

These money-saving deals can help you save on HBO Max, Netflix, Disney Plus, MLB.TV and other streaming services.

In an era of Disney PlusNetflixHuluParamount PlusHBO Max and Peacock, there seem to be nearly as many streaming services as there are days in a month. With subscription prices constantly rising,the cost of signing up for more than one service can quickly rival an old cable bill.  

Depending on your cellphone service, however, there could be ways to score discounts on one or more of these options. Some T-Mobile plans can get you a free subscription to Netflix and Apple TV Plus. Verizon offers the Disney Bundle (Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu) with certain plans, while one of Cricket Wireless’ unlimited plans includes ad-supported HBO Max.

Disney PlusDisney Plus
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Let’s break down the best streaming service deals that are available now from each carrier. 

Read more: Best Streaming Service Deals

Verizon

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Have your sights set on Disney Plus? 

Verizon includes the Disney Bundle — subscriptions to Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus that run a combined $15 a month — with its 5G Play More and 5G Get More unlimited plans. Other plans, such as its most affordable Start and Welcome Unlimited plans, have six-month trials of Disney Plus included, but not the bundle. 

Verizon allows mixing and matching with most of its unlimited plans, so as long as one line on your account has a Play More or Get More plan, you will be able to get the perk. Note that it is only one Disney subscription per Verizon account, not per individual line. 

The deal works for both new and existing Disney Plus subscribers, so if you already have a subscription you can either cancel or, if you have the six-month trial, have the Verizon subscription run first and then have your regular subscription continue after. 

It is also worth noting that the Disney Bundle Verizon offers includes ad-free Disney Plus (though Hulu still has ads). Disney’s regular triple play offer starts at $13 per month but has ads for Disney Plus and Hulu. Going ad-free for Disney Plus and Hulu in a triple play with ESPN Plus runs $20 per month.  

According to Verizon’s website, both the Disney Bundle and six-month Disney Plus offerings are available until May 17. Verizon didn’t immediately get back to us about whether the deals would be extended past that date or what would happen to those who have already signed up. 

Apple

On top of its Disney-related perks, Verizon includes Apple One with its One Unlimited for iPhone plan.

You can’t mix and match One Unlimited for iPhone with other unlimited plans, so all of your phone lines will need to be on the plan if you want the perk. One line gets you Apple One’s individual plan, which includes 50GB per month of iCloud Plus storage plus access to Apple Arcade, Apple Music and Apple TV Plus. Two or more lines get you Apple One’s family plan, which bumps the iCloud Plus storage to 200GB per month and adds the ability to share with up to five other users. 

Apple One individual plan runs $17 per month while the family plan costs $23 per month. 

You can learn more about what’s required to get Apple One with Verizon on Verizon’s website

T-Mobile

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T-Mobile, through its Netflix on Us perk, has long offered free Netflix on some of its unlimited plans, including Magenta and its newer Magenta Max option. Older plans, called One and One Plus, also have Netflix included. The version of Netflix you get depends on your plan and how many lines you have.

Currently, any type of Magenta plan will get you Netflix Basic, so long as you have multiple lines. The exception is a Magenta Max plan, where you’re required to have only one line. If you have multiple lines of Magenta Max, you’ll get Netflix Standard instead. The basic version typically runs $10 a month and lets you watch on a single screen at a time. The standard version is the most popular version of Netflix that runs $15.49 a month and allows viewing on two screens. Full details, including what you’d need to pay if you want to upgrade to a higher plan like the 4K-capable Netflix Premium, can be found on T-Mobile’s website

Note: It’s one Netflix subscription per T-Mobile account, not per individual line. 

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In addition to Netflix, T-Mobile offers free Apple TV Plus as a perk. The Apple TV Plus deal is available to new and existing T-Mobile customers, but, like the Netflix deal, it varies based on your plan. 

It is worth noting that T-Mobile doesn’t let you «mix and match» different plans on a family account, so you can’t have one person be on Magenta Max and get the Netflix and Apple TV Plus perk and then have other lines on cheaper Magenta plans. 

A subscription to Apple TV Plus, normally $7 per month, is included with Magenta Max and specialized plans like Magenta Max 55+, Magenta Max Military and Magenta Max First Responder, among other plans. Six months of Apple TV Plus are included with plans such as Magenta, specialized Magenta plans and Sprint ONE. The company lists more eligible plans and how long they get Apple TV Plus on its website

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Are you a baseball fan? MLB.TV costs $150 per year, but customers with T-Mobile, Sprint or Metro by T-Mobile can receive a free one-year subscription to stream Major League Baseball games and events. 

The deal kicked off last week just before the start of the 2023 season and runs through April 4 at 4:59 a.m. ET, and customers can redeem the limited-time offer through the T-Mobile Tuesdays app. Bear in mind that you won’t be able to stream live games in your local market with MLB TV, including those on local regional sports networks or games airing on national platforms like ESPN or TBS.

Metro by T-Mobile

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Metro by T-Mobile includes a subscription to Amazon Prime with its heritage $60 rate plan with Amazon, which differs from its regular $60 per month unlimited plan that is currently available online. To get Prime, you need to call Metro by T-Mobile customer service and request it. In addition to two-day free shipping, it also means you’ll have access to Prime Video, for streaming movies and shows like Shotgun Wedding, The Boys and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

In addition to Prime, the plan also includes 100GB of Google One storage and 15GB of mobile hotspot. As its name suggests, Metro by T-Mobile is owned by T-Mobile and runs on its network.

Cricket

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Cricket Wireless, which is owned by AT&T, has added a deal that will bundle a subscription to the ad-supported version of HBO Max with the carrier’s $60-a-month unlimited plan. The streaming service gives you access to all HBO content as well as Max originals such as Peacemaker, The Flight Attendant and Our Flag Means Death. 

Note: It’s one HBO Max subscription per Cricket account, not per individual line.


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Technologies

Why Are Switch 2 Games So Expensive? Trump’s Tariffs May Not Be Sole Factor

It still comes down to money.

Wednesday’s reveal of the Switch 2 had a lot of buzz from Nintendo surrounding its successor to the Switch. One shocking bit, though, was the high price of its games. There’s a lot of confusion, especially with news of President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on many trading partners, including Japan. 

After the Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo released the full details of the upcoming console and games on its website. The price of Mario Kart World shocked gamers and led to some disdain, as the $80 MSRP was $10 more than what most new games cost today. This led many to wonder if this would be a new normal for game prices due to Trump’s tariffs or if Nintendo was just being greedy. The answer, however, might be something completely different. 

Are Nintendo Switch 2 game prices hiking?

To start, some details need to be cleared up. Some people have posted on social media that the price of Nintendo’s Switch 2 games, at least in the US, will be $90. That is incorrect, as of right now. 

One X user posted Switch 2 EU prices for Mario Kart World, which start at 80 euros for a digital version and 90 euros for the physical copy. Typically, US and EU games match in price, which caused some to assume that this pricing would be the case for the US. 

US retailers, however, already posted their Switch 2 game prices, and Nintendo-published games are listed at $80.

Will Trump’s tariffs cause the Switch 2 to cost more?

As for Trump’s tariffs, that is unlikely to be a driver of this price bump. Tariffs are not applied to digital goods, and when the prices were published, there were no tariffs on Japan. Plus, games are similarly expensive in other countries like Canada and the UK.

With that cleared up, why are Nintendo games on the Switch 2 so expensive? One likely reason is game storage. 

Read More: All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free

The Switch 2 uses what Nintendo calls game-key cards, which are Switch 2 cartridges that don’t have all the game data on the cartridge itself. This helps save on production costs as storage is expensive. The original Switch cartridges went up to 32GB of storage, which doesn’t seem like a lot these days, with some games taking up 100GB or more of storage, but this is for the original Switch. Only a few games, like The Witcher 3, went above 32GB because the graphics for the Switch weren’t on the high end like with a PC, PS5 or Xbox Series console, where a Witcher 3 install size starts at 50GB

Switch 2 games are going to be bigger in size — there is little doubt about it. CD Projekt Red confirmed it would put its Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on one 64GB cartridge, and there will likely be other games to surpass that 64GB. With the max size of the cartridge doubling in size, it adds to the price of the physical card, as not only does storage have to be bigger, but they will need to transfer data faster. That can get more expensive for physical copies, unlike optical discs, which are still the same price whether it has 20GB or 100GB on the disc. 

What does all this mean for gamers?

This leads to a dilemma for publishers: Put the entire game on the physical card and sell it at a loss, increase the price of the physical copy with the full game on it or use the game-key card to have a card with minimal storage, requiring gamers to download the entire game.

Read More: The 17 Best Nintendo Switch Games Right Now

It appears that Nintendo went with door No. 2. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, knowing the company. Anyone who wants to save money on games knows that Nintendo will seldom bring the price down of its own games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, for example, is 8 years old and is still full price on Nintendo’s website

According to an industry analysis from Niko Partners, this new pricing could become the new normal in a couple of years when it comes to physical cartridges.

«While there has been some sticker shock regarding the price of games increasing from $60 to $70 or $80, these price points are set to become industry standard over the next two years, especially so for Nintendo first-party games,» Niko Partners said in a statement Wednesday. «One reason for the higher price is the increased cost of the new and faster Game Cards themselves, with higher capacities being more expensive to manufacture than a PS5 Blu-ray disc.»

Nintendo didn’t respond to a request for comment about the higher price of its games. 

That said, this doesn’t explain the lower price of Donkey Kong Bananza, which comes out in July; that’s listed on Nintendo’s site for $70. This could mean the game isn’t using a larger storage card, but that can’t be said for sure until the game comes out. It’s unclear how things will change in the future.

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Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-orders in US Delayed Due to Trump’s Tariffs

The Switch 2 launch is still happening on June 5, and preorders outside the US seem unchanged.

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders in the US were to start April 9, but it appears those plans have changed due to the new tariffs imposed this week by President Donald Trump. It’s unclear if this means Nintendo will also have to increase the price of the Switch successor, which currently starts at $450. 

Nintendo said Friday that it’s delaying Switch 2 preorders in the US, but its June release date is unaffected. 

«Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,» the company said in a statement. «Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.»

Nintendo didn’t indicate if preorder dates outside the US would change, but Eurogamer reports that preorders are live at various retailers in the UK.

A tariff of 24% has been applied by the US to goods from Japan. Were that rate to be applied directly to the Switch 2’s announced price, it would rise to $558, but it would be up to Nintendo how much of the tariff it will pass on to consumers.

This is a developing story.

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Technologies

Twelve South’s Foldable Wireless Charger for iPhone and Apple Watch Is Up to 27% Off at Amazon

This handy accessory makes it easier to travel with your Apple gear and stay charged wherever you go.

Whether you’re traveling for business or off on a wonderful family vacation, charging your stuff shouldn’t be something you have to worry about. Taking extra chargers and cables can be a pain, and they all take up space in your bag. But the handy Twelve South Butterfly SE charger is a compact alternative that can wirelessly charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time. And it’s available with up to 27% off right now at Amazon.

That top line discount applies to the pink version, though the white model is only $7 more and other colors are seeing 15% off the usual $100 price tag if you have a strong preference. It’s not clear how long the discounts will last, though. 

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

The charger itself offers a way to wirelessly charge a iPhone and Apple Watch from a single AC outlet, and you can even charge your AirPods when your phone is done, too. And because this is a Qi2 charger you’ll get a full 15 watts of wireless charging for compatible devices — including the best iPhones.

When you’re not using the Butterfly SE, it folds up so it can be slid into a pocket, bag or luggage without taking up too much space. It really is the perfect partner for people who like to travel light.

Unfortunately, this charger doesn’t come with an AC adapter in the box, so you’ll need to provide your own. Make sure it’s rated for 20 watts or more. If you need to buy one, Apple’s 20-watt USB-C charger is just $15 right now.

Why this deal matters

We all carry multiple devices around with us these days. Anything that can make charging them more convenient is a win in our books, especially when you’re traveling. This charger takes up little space when it isn’t being used and charges quickly when it is.

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