T-Mobile Will Give You a Free iPhone 17e Right Now, No Trade-In Necessary
via Lifehacker (author: Daniel Oropeza)
via Lifehacker (author: Daniel Oropeza)
Telegraph
T-Mobile Will Give You a Free iPhone 17e Right Now, No Trade…
We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I traditionally have avoided tying my phone to a specific carrier, but I threw all my principles out the window when my local AT&T…
Microsoft Is Removing Copilot Buttons From These Windows 11 Apps
Last month, Microsoft announced that it planned to remove "unnecessary" Copilot features in Windows 11. The news was a bit shocking to say the least: Microsoft has been one of the biggest proponents of generative AI, pushing the technology into as many corners of its apps and OS as possible—despite negative feedback from users. Now, it seems the company is paying attention, and is actually sticking to its word.
As spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft has already started removing some "unnecessary" Copilot buttons from certain Windows apps. Warren notes that the latest Windows Insider version of the Notepad app is missing the Copilot button. In its place, Microsoft has added a "writing tools" menu. The Snipping Tool also has a similar situation: When you select an area to take a snapshot of, you won't find the Copilot button anymore.
It's a small start, but at least the company is starting the removal process. In his announcement last month, Pavan Davuluri (Microsoft's President of Windows & Devices) revealed that the company would remove Copilot from both Notepad and the Snipping Tool, but also Photos and Widgets. If the trend holds, expect to see these apps lose their Copilot buttons next.
The keyword here really is "buttons" though. As Warren highlights for The Verge, Microsoft seems to be largely retaining the AI features themselves. "Writing tools" in Notepad still has Microsoft's AI writing tools, in case users still want to access those options. But by removing the large Copilot option, users who want nothing to do with AI in apps like Notepad can easily avoid them. Really, it's evidence that the "in your face" approach Microsoft has taken to AI integration has really backfired. It doesn't help the company's case that, up until last week, Microsoft's official terms of service said Copilot was "for entertainment purposes only."
It's simple enough to remove Copilot buttons from software; it's another thing entirely to deal with the Copilot button affixed to new "Copilot+ PCs." Microsoft had manufacturers add this button as part of its dedication to this new technology, but now that it's pulling back a bit, it leaves these PCs in an odd place. It always seemed like a strange choice to put a Copilot key on a laptop when it wasn't clear how many users really want to use Copilot features in the first place. At least you can remap it to do something more useful if you don't care for Microsoft's AI.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Last month, Microsoft announced that it planned to remove "unnecessary" Copilot features in Windows 11. The news was a bit shocking to say the least: Microsoft has been one of the biggest proponents of generative AI, pushing the technology into as many corners of its apps and OS as possible—despite negative feedback from users. Now, it seems the company is paying attention, and is actually sticking to its word.
As spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft has already started removing some "unnecessary" Copilot buttons from certain Windows apps. Warren notes that the latest Windows Insider version of the Notepad app is missing the Copilot button. In its place, Microsoft has added a "writing tools" menu. The Snipping Tool also has a similar situation: When you select an area to take a snapshot of, you won't find the Copilot button anymore.
It's a small start, but at least the company is starting the removal process. In his announcement last month, Pavan Davuluri (Microsoft's President of Windows & Devices) revealed that the company would remove Copilot from both Notepad and the Snipping Tool, but also Photos and Widgets. If the trend holds, expect to see these apps lose their Copilot buttons next.
The keyword here really is "buttons" though. As Warren highlights for The Verge, Microsoft seems to be largely retaining the AI features themselves. "Writing tools" in Notepad still has Microsoft's AI writing tools, in case users still want to access those options. But by removing the large Copilot option, users who want nothing to do with AI in apps like Notepad can easily avoid them. Really, it's evidence that the "in your face" approach Microsoft has taken to AI integration has really backfired. It doesn't help the company's case that, up until last week, Microsoft's official terms of service said Copilot was "for entertainment purposes only."
It's simple enough to remove Copilot buttons from software; it's another thing entirely to deal with the Copilot button affixed to new "Copilot+ PCs." Microsoft had manufacturers add this button as part of its dedication to this new technology, but now that it's pulling back a bit, it leaves these PCs in an odd place. It always seemed like a strange choice to put a Copilot key on a laptop when it wasn't clear how many users really want to use Copilot features in the first place. At least you can remap it to do something more useful if you don't care for Microsoft's AI.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Microsoft Is Removing Copilot Buttons From These Windows 11 Apps
Last month, Microsoft announced that it planned to remove "unnecessary" Copilot features in Windows 11. The news was a bit shocking to say the least: Microsoft has been one of the biggest proponents of generative AI, pushing the technology into as many corners of its apps and OS as possible—despite negative feedback from users. Now, it seems the company is paying attention, and is actually sticking to its word.
As spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft has already started removing some "unnecessary" Copilot buttons from certain Windows apps. Warren notes that the latest Windows Insider version of the Notepad app is missing the Copilot button. In its place, Microsoft has added a "writing tools" menu. The Snipping Tool also has a similar situation: When you select an area to take a snapshot of, you won't find the Copilot button anymore.
It's a small start, but at least the company is starting the removal process. In his announcement last month, Pavan Davuluri (Microsoft's President of Windows & Devices) revealed that the company would remove Copilot from both Notepad and the Snipping Tool, but also Photos and Widgets. If the trend holds, expect to see these apps lose their Copilot buttons next.
The keyword here really is "buttons" though. As Warren highlights for The Verge, Microsoft seems to be largely retaining the AI features themselves. "Writing tools" in Notepad still has Microsoft's AI writing tools, in case users still want to access those options. But by removing the large Copilot option, users who want nothing to do with AI in apps like Notepad can easily avoid them. Really, it's evidence that the "in your face" approach Microsoft has taken to AI integration has really backfired. It doesn't help the company's case that, up until last week, Microsoft's official terms of service said Copilot was "for entertainment purposes only."
It's simple enough to remove Copilot buttons from software; it's another thing entirely to deal with the Copilot button affixed to new "Copilot+ PCs." Microsoft had manufacturers add this button as part of its dedication to this new technology, but now that it's pulling back a bit, it leaves these PCs in an odd place. It always seemed like a strange choice to put a Copilot key on a laptop when it wasn't clear how many users really want to use Copilot features in the first place. At least you can remap it to do something more useful if you don't care for Microsoft's AI.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Last month, Microsoft announced that it planned to remove "unnecessary" Copilot features in Windows 11. The news was a bit shocking to say the least: Microsoft has been one of the biggest proponents of generative AI, pushing the technology into as many corners of its apps and OS as possible—despite negative feedback from users. Now, it seems the company is paying attention, and is actually sticking to its word.
As spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft has already started removing some "unnecessary" Copilot buttons from certain Windows apps. Warren notes that the latest Windows Insider version of the Notepad app is missing the Copilot button. In its place, Microsoft has added a "writing tools" menu. The Snipping Tool also has a similar situation: When you select an area to take a snapshot of, you won't find the Copilot button anymore.
It's a small start, but at least the company is starting the removal process. In his announcement last month, Pavan Davuluri (Microsoft's President of Windows & Devices) revealed that the company would remove Copilot from both Notepad and the Snipping Tool, but also Photos and Widgets. If the trend holds, expect to see these apps lose their Copilot buttons next.
The keyword here really is "buttons" though. As Warren highlights for The Verge, Microsoft seems to be largely retaining the AI features themselves. "Writing tools" in Notepad still has Microsoft's AI writing tools, in case users still want to access those options. But by removing the large Copilot option, users who want nothing to do with AI in apps like Notepad can easily avoid them. Really, it's evidence that the "in your face" approach Microsoft has taken to AI integration has really backfired. It doesn't help the company's case that, up until last week, Microsoft's official terms of service said Copilot was "for entertainment purposes only."
It's simple enough to remove Copilot buttons from software; it's another thing entirely to deal with the Copilot button affixed to new "Copilot+ PCs." Microsoft had manufacturers add this button as part of its dedication to this new technology, but now that it's pulling back a bit, it leaves these PCs in an odd place. It always seemed like a strange choice to put a Copilot key on a laptop when it wasn't clear how many users really want to use Copilot features in the first place. At least you can remap it to do something more useful if you don't care for Microsoft's AI.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Google Is Now Rolling Out End-to-End Encryption for (Some) Gmail Users
Gmail is one of—if not the—most popular email platform in the world. But it's not the favorite for users who care about their privacy. Google doesn't offer end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for basic Gmail users, instead opting for "Transport Layer Security" (TLS). This provides security in transit, but doesn't help once the message reaches its destination. While TLS is better than nothing, it doesn't offer the same level of security as E2EE, which scrambles messages for everyone other than the sender, recipients, and whoever else has the decryption key. As such, privacy-minded users often look elsewhere for their email needs, like Proton Mail.
But Google does offer more advanced encryption for some users—namely, work or school Workspace accounts. There's Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), which, like E2EE, encrypts emails in transit and in the sender's and recipients' inboxes. But it comes with the drawback of Google having a decryption key as well. In theory, Google could decrypt your emails—or, if Google was successfully hacked, an attacker could use the key to decrypt your emails. That's where client-side encryption (CSE) comes in: Here, the organizer of a Google Workspace plan has that decryption key, not Google, which means decryption is only possible within the organization.
If your company has a Workspace plan, this is the encryption to use if you want your email as secure as possible. But the main issue up to this point is that CSE has only been available on desktop. When at your computer, you could take advantage of encrypted Gmail, but when on the go, the mobile Gmail app didn't support it. According to Google, the only way to access CSE emails on mobile was to rely on extra apps and email portals.
Gmail on iOS and Android now supports E2EE through CSE
That's all changing now. On Thursday, Google announced it is now rolling out CSE support for the iOS and Android Gmail apps. Going forward, you can write and read E2EE emails directly within Gmail, no matter how you access the app. Plus, you'll be able to send E2EE emails to anyone, even if they don't have Gmail.
Google says that if your recipient has Gmail, they'll simply be able to open the message in their inbox. If they have a different email address (e.g. Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Proton, etc.), they'll still be able to read the email, but they'll need to open it in their device's browser. However, be careful when sending messages with CSE, as not everything you send is encrypted end-to-end. According to Google's help page on CSE, the body of the email will have total encryption, but the header, subject, timestamps, and recipients, will not have additional encryption.
How to send E2EE messages in Gmail
The admin of your organization will need to enable CSE for iOS and Android on their end before you see the option in your app. Once that happens, choose "Compose," then select "Message security," which has a lock icon. Under "Additional encryption," choose "Turn on." Then, craft your email as you normally would.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Gmail is one of—if not the—most popular email platform in the world. But it's not the favorite for users who care about their privacy. Google doesn't offer end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for basic Gmail users, instead opting for "Transport Layer Security" (TLS). This provides security in transit, but doesn't help once the message reaches its destination. While TLS is better than nothing, it doesn't offer the same level of security as E2EE, which scrambles messages for everyone other than the sender, recipients, and whoever else has the decryption key. As such, privacy-minded users often look elsewhere for their email needs, like Proton Mail.
But Google does offer more advanced encryption for some users—namely, work or school Workspace accounts. There's Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), which, like E2EE, encrypts emails in transit and in the sender's and recipients' inboxes. But it comes with the drawback of Google having a decryption key as well. In theory, Google could decrypt your emails—or, if Google was successfully hacked, an attacker could use the key to decrypt your emails. That's where client-side encryption (CSE) comes in: Here, the organizer of a Google Workspace plan has that decryption key, not Google, which means decryption is only possible within the organization.
If your company has a Workspace plan, this is the encryption to use if you want your email as secure as possible. But the main issue up to this point is that CSE has only been available on desktop. When at your computer, you could take advantage of encrypted Gmail, but when on the go, the mobile Gmail app didn't support it. According to Google, the only way to access CSE emails on mobile was to rely on extra apps and email portals.
Gmail on iOS and Android now supports E2EE through CSE
That's all changing now. On Thursday, Google announced it is now rolling out CSE support for the iOS and Android Gmail apps. Going forward, you can write and read E2EE emails directly within Gmail, no matter how you access the app. Plus, you'll be able to send E2EE emails to anyone, even if they don't have Gmail.
Google says that if your recipient has Gmail, they'll simply be able to open the message in their inbox. If they have a different email address (e.g. Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, Proton, etc.), they'll still be able to read the email, but they'll need to open it in their device's browser. However, be careful when sending messages with CSE, as not everything you send is encrypted end-to-end. According to Google's help page on CSE, the body of the email will have total encryption, but the header, subject, timestamps, and recipients, will not have additional encryption.
How to send E2EE messages in Gmail
The admin of your organization will need to enable CSE for iOS and Android on their end before you see the option in your app. Once that happens, choose "Compose," then select "Message security," which has a lock icon. Under "Additional encryption," choose "Turn on." Then, craft your email as you normally would.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
YouTube Is Raising Prices for Premium Subscribers
When it first launched back in 2007, it would have seemed laughable to suggest paying a monthly subscription for YouTube. But fast forward nearly two decades, and YouTube Premium is actually a solid deal. With it, you get a mostly ad-free experience, with exclusive features and perks like YouTube Music. Of course, those benefits may only be worth it for the right price.
On Friday, YouTube started informing subscribers that it will be raising Premium prices for all account types. Going forward, individual YouTube Premium plans will go from $13.99 to $15.99 per month; annual plans will rise from $139.99 to $159.99 per year; family plans will go from $22.99 to $26.99 per month; and student plans will increase from $7.99 to $8.99 per month. That's only taking into account YouTube's pricing itself. If you subscribe to Premium through the YouTube app on iOS, YouTube applies an extra fee to compensate for Apple's 30% cut. That's why this Redditor's individual plan is going to $20.99 per month. For its part, YouTube does inform the user that they can sign up directly through YouTube for the new $15.99 per month price.
Interestingly, YouTube hasn't actually made an official announcement regarding the press increase. Instead, this change has been spread entirely word of mouth, as users shared their emails from the company in frustration. Users are already on edge this week, accusing the company of rolling out unskippable 90-second long ad breaks. YouTube is adamant that it does not have unskippable ad breaks this long, and says that the examples of it in the wild are actually bugs. But whether or not that's the case, the situation isn't really selling the company's price increase announcement.
To that point, users are not happy with this news. Scrolling through Reddit threads, I see nothing but frustration and dissatisfaction, with many threatening to cancel, or confirming they've ended their subscriptions then and there. One user called YouTube "greedy [bastards]," while others extol the virtues of ad blockers—which defeats one of the main perks of the subscription. As such, in recent years, Google started a war against ad blockers, making it much more difficult to use them with YouTube.
$15.99 isn't the most expensive streaming subscription out there, and YouTube Premium still comes with all the same benefits as before. But I'm not convinced YouTube can continue squeezing subscribers for more and more money before they start to see a subscriber exodus.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
When it first launched back in 2007, it would have seemed laughable to suggest paying a monthly subscription for YouTube. But fast forward nearly two decades, and YouTube Premium is actually a solid deal. With it, you get a mostly ad-free experience, with exclusive features and perks like YouTube Music. Of course, those benefits may only be worth it for the right price.
On Friday, YouTube started informing subscribers that it will be raising Premium prices for all account types. Going forward, individual YouTube Premium plans will go from $13.99 to $15.99 per month; annual plans will rise from $139.99 to $159.99 per year; family plans will go from $22.99 to $26.99 per month; and student plans will increase from $7.99 to $8.99 per month. That's only taking into account YouTube's pricing itself. If you subscribe to Premium through the YouTube app on iOS, YouTube applies an extra fee to compensate for Apple's 30% cut. That's why this Redditor's individual plan is going to $20.99 per month. For its part, YouTube does inform the user that they can sign up directly through YouTube for the new $15.99 per month price.
Interestingly, YouTube hasn't actually made an official announcement regarding the press increase. Instead, this change has been spread entirely word of mouth, as users shared their emails from the company in frustration. Users are already on edge this week, accusing the company of rolling out unskippable 90-second long ad breaks. YouTube is adamant that it does not have unskippable ad breaks this long, and says that the examples of it in the wild are actually bugs. But whether or not that's the case, the situation isn't really selling the company's price increase announcement.
To that point, users are not happy with this news. Scrolling through Reddit threads, I see nothing but frustration and dissatisfaction, with many threatening to cancel, or confirming they've ended their subscriptions then and there. One user called YouTube "greedy [bastards]," while others extol the virtues of ad blockers—which defeats one of the main perks of the subscription. As such, in recent years, Google started a war against ad blockers, making it much more difficult to use them with YouTube.
$15.99 isn't the most expensive streaming subscription out there, and YouTube Premium still comes with all the same benefits as before. But I'm not convinced YouTube can continue squeezing subscribers for more and more money before they start to see a subscriber exodus.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Lifehacker
Why YouTube Premium Is the Best Digital Subscription
Sign up for YouTube Premium and you get benefits such as no ads, YouTube downloads, and YouTube Music Premium. You might find it worth signing up.
YouTube Is Raising Prices for Premium Subscribers
When it first launched back in 2007, it would have seemed laughable to suggest paying a monthly subscription for YouTube. But fast forward nearly two decades, and YouTube Premium is actually a solid deal. With it, you get a mostly ad-free experience, with exclusive features and perks like YouTube Music. Of course, those benefits may only be worth it for the right price.
On Friday, YouTube started informing subscribers that it will be raising Premium prices for all account types. Going forward, individual YouTube Premium plans will go from $13.99 to $15.99 per month; annual plans will rise from $139.99 to $159.99 per year; family plans will go from $22.99 to $26.99 per month; and student plans will increase from $7.99 to $8.99 per month. That's only taking into account YouTube's pricing itself. If you subscribe to Premium through the YouTube app on iOS, YouTube applies an extra fee to compensate for Apple's 30% cut. That's why this Redditor's individual plan is going to $20.99 per month. For its part, YouTube does inform the user that they can sign up directly through YouTube for the new $15.99 per month price.
Interestingly, YouTube hasn't actually made an official announcement regarding the press increase. Instead, this change has been spread entirely word of mouth, as users shared their emails from the company in frustration. Users are already on edge this week, accusing the company of rolling out unskippable 90-second long ad breaks. YouTube is adamant that it does not have unskippable ad breaks this long, and says that the examples of it in the wild are actually bugs. But whether or not that's the case, the situation isn't really selling the company's price increase announcement.
To that point, users are not happy with this news. Scrolling through Reddit threads, I see nothing but frustration and dissatisfaction, with many threatening to cancel, or confirming they've ended their subscriptions then and there. One user called YouTube "greedy [bastards]," while others extol the virtues of ad blockers—which defeats one of the main perks of the subscription. As such, in recent years, Google started a war against ad blockers, making it much more difficult to use them with YouTube.
$15.99 isn't the most expensive streaming subscription out there, and YouTube Premium still comes with all the same benefits as before. But I'm not convinced YouTube can continue squeezing subscribers for more and more money before they start to see a subscriber exodus.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
When it first launched back in 2007, it would have seemed laughable to suggest paying a monthly subscription for YouTube. But fast forward nearly two decades, and YouTube Premium is actually a solid deal. With it, you get a mostly ad-free experience, with exclusive features and perks like YouTube Music. Of course, those benefits may only be worth it for the right price.
On Friday, YouTube started informing subscribers that it will be raising Premium prices for all account types. Going forward, individual YouTube Premium plans will go from $13.99 to $15.99 per month; annual plans will rise from $139.99 to $159.99 per year; family plans will go from $22.99 to $26.99 per month; and student plans will increase from $7.99 to $8.99 per month. That's only taking into account YouTube's pricing itself. If you subscribe to Premium through the YouTube app on iOS, YouTube applies an extra fee to compensate for Apple's 30% cut. That's why this Redditor's individual plan is going to $20.99 per month. For its part, YouTube does inform the user that they can sign up directly through YouTube for the new $15.99 per month price.
Interestingly, YouTube hasn't actually made an official announcement regarding the press increase. Instead, this change has been spread entirely word of mouth, as users shared their emails from the company in frustration. Users are already on edge this week, accusing the company of rolling out unskippable 90-second long ad breaks. YouTube is adamant that it does not have unskippable ad breaks this long, and says that the examples of it in the wild are actually bugs. But whether or not that's the case, the situation isn't really selling the company's price increase announcement.
To that point, users are not happy with this news. Scrolling through Reddit threads, I see nothing but frustration and dissatisfaction, with many threatening to cancel, or confirming they've ended their subscriptions then and there. One user called YouTube "greedy [bastards]," while others extol the virtues of ad blockers—which defeats one of the main perks of the subscription. As such, in recent years, Google started a war against ad blockers, making it much more difficult to use them with YouTube.
$15.99 isn't the most expensive streaming subscription out there, and YouTube Premium still comes with all the same benefits as before. But I'm not convinced YouTube can continue squeezing subscribers for more and more money before they start to see a subscriber exodus.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
OpenAI Just Cut ChatGPT Pro's Price in Half
While ChatGPT may have kicked off the generative AI era we now live in, it is far from alone these days. There is steep competition from multiple companies in this space, including Google, Anthropic, and even Microsoft—which has a huge financial stake in OpenAI. To compete, it seems OpenAI is trying to make its paid subscription plans more attractive to users, as the company just cut the price of ChatGPT Pro in half.
ChatGPT Pro now starts at $100
As reported by TechCrunch, OpenAI's new pricing model now offers a Pro plan at $100 per month, down from $200 per month. That now gives users a choice between the following: a free plan, which comes with ads; a Go plan offering more usage limits for $8 per month (still with ads); a Plus plan with extra models and exclusive features for $20 per month; and, now, the Pro plan, with the most usage limits across all of the company's models and features, for $100 per month. OpenAI doesn't list a $200 plan anymore, but it confirmed to TechCrunch that option is still available.
If you use ChatGPT to answer your everyday questions, you might balk at the idea of spending $100 a month on the chatbot, let alone $200. But Pro plans aren't targeted at the everyday user; instead, the idea is for coders who rely on AI to help with programs to subscribe. In this case, that's through Codex, OpenAI's coding tool. OpenAI told TechCrunch that its Pro plan now offers five times more Codex access than the Plus plan, which might appeal to power users. (The hidden $200 plan offers limits that are 20 times higher than Plus, or four times higher than the $100 Pro plan.)
Power users are who OpenAI is going after, too—especially those who may be tempted by Anthropic's Claude Code tool, which also offers a $100-per-month plan. This isn't speculation, either: An OpenAI spokesperson directly acknowledged how they believe Codex offers more for the money than Claude Code: “The new $100 Pro Tier is designed to give developers more practical coding capacity for the money, especially during high-intensity work sessions where limits matter most. Compared with Claude Code, Codex delivers more coding capacity per dollar across paid tiers, with the difference showing up most clearly during active coding use."
The AI race continues to heat up
OpenAI still has the majority of the generative AI user base. Back in February, the company announced it had broken 900 million weekly active users, with more than 50 million consumer subscribers. Anthropic doesn't disclose its total users, but some analyses put its consumers at anywhere from 18 or 30 million, while a spokesperson told TechCrunch that paid subscription have more than doubled this year. At the high end, that's 30 millions users against 900 million.
But Anthropic appears to be making more money than OpenAI. The former announced on Monday that its run-rate revenue had exceeded $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025. OpenAI says it is generating $2 billion per month, which would put it at roughly $24 billion for the year—at this point, anyway. Anecdotally, I have seen a lot of coders talk about using Claude Code, and far fewer discussing using ChatGPT Codex. While there are many AI companies out there, the fact that OpenAI called out Anthropic directly in this price cut shows they view them as a direct rival. It will be interesting to see how other things change as the race continues to heat up. Will OpenAI make more cuts, like it did when it killed Sora and dropped its AI video models? Only time will tell.
Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed on Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
While ChatGPT may have kicked off the generative AI era we now live in, it is far from alone these days. There is steep competition from multiple companies in this space, including Google, Anthropic, and even Microsoft—which has a huge financial stake in OpenAI. To compete, it seems OpenAI is trying to make its paid subscription plans more attractive to users, as the company just cut the price of ChatGPT Pro in half.
ChatGPT Pro now starts at $100
As reported by TechCrunch, OpenAI's new pricing model now offers a Pro plan at $100 per month, down from $200 per month. That now gives users a choice between the following: a free plan, which comes with ads; a Go plan offering more usage limits for $8 per month (still with ads); a Plus plan with extra models and exclusive features for $20 per month; and, now, the Pro plan, with the most usage limits across all of the company's models and features, for $100 per month. OpenAI doesn't list a $200 plan anymore, but it confirmed to TechCrunch that option is still available.
If you use ChatGPT to answer your everyday questions, you might balk at the idea of spending $100 a month on the chatbot, let alone $200. But Pro plans aren't targeted at the everyday user; instead, the idea is for coders who rely on AI to help with programs to subscribe. In this case, that's through Codex, OpenAI's coding tool. OpenAI told TechCrunch that its Pro plan now offers five times more Codex access than the Plus plan, which might appeal to power users. (The hidden $200 plan offers limits that are 20 times higher than Plus, or four times higher than the $100 Pro plan.)
Power users are who OpenAI is going after, too—especially those who may be tempted by Anthropic's Claude Code tool, which also offers a $100-per-month plan. This isn't speculation, either: An OpenAI spokesperson directly acknowledged how they believe Codex offers more for the money than Claude Code: “The new $100 Pro Tier is designed to give developers more practical coding capacity for the money, especially during high-intensity work sessions where limits matter most. Compared with Claude Code, Codex delivers more coding capacity per dollar across paid tiers, with the difference showing up most clearly during active coding use."
The AI race continues to heat up
OpenAI still has the majority of the generative AI user base. Back in February, the company announced it had broken 900 million weekly active users, with more than 50 million consumer subscribers. Anthropic doesn't disclose its total users, but some analyses put its consumers at anywhere from 18 or 30 million, while a spokesperson told TechCrunch that paid subscription have more than doubled this year. At the high end, that's 30 millions users against 900 million.
But Anthropic appears to be making more money than OpenAI. The former announced on Monday that its run-rate revenue had exceeded $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025. OpenAI says it is generating $2 billion per month, which would put it at roughly $24 billion for the year—at this point, anyway. Anecdotally, I have seen a lot of coders talk about using Claude Code, and far fewer discussing using ChatGPT Codex. While there are many AI companies out there, the fact that OpenAI called out Anthropic directly in this price cut shows they view them as a direct rival. It will be interesting to see how other things change as the race continues to heat up. Will OpenAI make more cuts, like it did when it killed Sora and dropped its AI video models? Only time will tell.
Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed on Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Roblox 'Plus' Is Here, but It's Only for the Hardcore Spenders
Like many parents, I know well the pain of my Roblox-addicted child asking me to trade my real money for fake money he can use to buy pretend items in a digital video game. So when Roblox announced the April 30 launch of Roblox Plus, a monthly subscription service with perks that could net us a 20% discount on all the digital items, my interest was piqued.
But is Roblox Plus actually worth it? Let's do some math.
What do you get with Roblox Plus?
As noted in today's announcement on the Roblox website, once it launches at the end of this month, the primary benefit of Roblox Plus will be a discount on items purchased with Robux, the platform's in-game currency. Your monthly subscription won't actually come with any Robux (yet, anyway—more on that in a bit), but it does come with the promise that you'll spend less real cash on Robux going forward.
Immediately upon enrolling, Roblox Plus members will receive an immediate 10% Robux discount on all in-game purchases. Once you've been a member for three consecutive months, that discount will increase to 20%.
You'll also get some other, less tangible benefits:
● Free private servers. No longer will you need mingle with the Roblox rabble: a membership will net you a free private server for every game. (My son informs me that most games have free private servers already, so the benefit here is questionable.)
● Transfer Robux without paying a fee. Apparently right now you have to pay a transaction fee if you want to give Robux in your account to another player. Roblux Plus will eliminate that fee. (Robux says there are safeguards in place requiring parental approval for child accounts to send Robux or receive Robux from others.)
● Trade or resell avatar items. Avatar upgrades are usually one-time purchases, but Roblox Plus members will be able to trade or resell them (probably at a steep loss, I'm guessing).
● Publish and sell avatar items. Roblox Plus members will also be able to design and sell their own avatar items on Roblox Marketplace, potentially earning commissions up to 70%. (This was possible before, so I assume the benefit is bypassing the typical 300 Robux upload fee.)
● A "distinct profile badge." Oh big wow.
How much does Roblox Plus cost?
Roblox Plus will cost you $4.99 per month, the same price as the entry-level tier of Roblox Premium, which nets you 450 Robux per month. a 10% bonus when you buy additional Robux, and some other perks like item trading. A basic Roblox Plus membership doesn't include any Robux.
However, the announcement indicates that in the future, Roblox will launch Roblox Plus bundles that will roll in Robux as well—in tiers of 500, 1,000, or 2,000—but pricing for those has yet to be announced. It's "convenient way to pay once for both Roblox Plus and monthly Robux," the platform says. Very exciting!
Is Roblox Plus worth it?
While Roblox Plus could add new benefits in the future, as it stands, the easiest way to judge whether it's worth it is to do some basic math: In order to recoup the $5 a month membership cost, you'll need to regularly spend at least $25 worth of Robux per month on in-game purchases just to break even—and that's after you've already been a member for three months, doubling your discount from 10% to 20%. (Those first two months, you'll need to spend $50 worth of Robux if you want to net to zero.)
Of course, the math gets much more complicated if you pair a Roblox Premium membership (which gets you a 10% bonus when you buy Robux) and a Roblox Plus membership, but that equation will probably become moot with the launch of the aforementioned Roblox Plus bundles.
Personally, I won't be signing my kid up anytime soon. He doesn't care about free servers or trading avatar items, and thankfully we aren't spending anywhere near $25 per month on Robux. Most months, anyway.
via Lifehacker (author: Joel Cunningham)
Like many parents, I know well the pain of my Roblox-addicted child asking me to trade my real money for fake money he can use to buy pretend items in a digital video game. So when Roblox announced the April 30 launch of Roblox Plus, a monthly subscription service with perks that could net us a 20% discount on all the digital items, my interest was piqued.
But is Roblox Plus actually worth it? Let's do some math.
What do you get with Roblox Plus?
As noted in today's announcement on the Roblox website, once it launches at the end of this month, the primary benefit of Roblox Plus will be a discount on items purchased with Robux, the platform's in-game currency. Your monthly subscription won't actually come with any Robux (yet, anyway—more on that in a bit), but it does come with the promise that you'll spend less real cash on Robux going forward.
Immediately upon enrolling, Roblox Plus members will receive an immediate 10% Robux discount on all in-game purchases. Once you've been a member for three consecutive months, that discount will increase to 20%.
You'll also get some other, less tangible benefits:
● Free private servers. No longer will you need mingle with the Roblox rabble: a membership will net you a free private server for every game. (My son informs me that most games have free private servers already, so the benefit here is questionable.)
● Transfer Robux without paying a fee. Apparently right now you have to pay a transaction fee if you want to give Robux in your account to another player. Roblux Plus will eliminate that fee. (Robux says there are safeguards in place requiring parental approval for child accounts to send Robux or receive Robux from others.)
● Trade or resell avatar items. Avatar upgrades are usually one-time purchases, but Roblox Plus members will be able to trade or resell them (probably at a steep loss, I'm guessing).
● Publish and sell avatar items. Roblox Plus members will also be able to design and sell their own avatar items on Roblox Marketplace, potentially earning commissions up to 70%. (This was possible before, so I assume the benefit is bypassing the typical 300 Robux upload fee.)
● A "distinct profile badge." Oh big wow.
How much does Roblox Plus cost?
Roblox Plus will cost you $4.99 per month, the same price as the entry-level tier of Roblox Premium, which nets you 450 Robux per month. a 10% bonus when you buy additional Robux, and some other perks like item trading. A basic Roblox Plus membership doesn't include any Robux.
However, the announcement indicates that in the future, Roblox will launch Roblox Plus bundles that will roll in Robux as well—in tiers of 500, 1,000, or 2,000—but pricing for those has yet to be announced. It's "convenient way to pay once for both Roblox Plus and monthly Robux," the platform says. Very exciting!
Is Roblox Plus worth it?
While Roblox Plus could add new benefits in the future, as it stands, the easiest way to judge whether it's worth it is to do some basic math: In order to recoup the $5 a month membership cost, you'll need to regularly spend at least $25 worth of Robux per month on in-game purchases just to break even—and that's after you've already been a member for three months, doubling your discount from 10% to 20%. (Those first two months, you'll need to spend $50 worth of Robux if you want to net to zero.)
Of course, the math gets much more complicated if you pair a Roblox Premium membership (which gets you a 10% bonus when you buy Robux) and a Roblox Plus membership, but that equation will probably become moot with the launch of the aforementioned Roblox Plus bundles.
Personally, I won't be signing my kid up anytime soon. He doesn't care about free servers or trading avatar items, and thankfully we aren't spending anywhere near $25 per month on Robux. Most months, anyway.
via Lifehacker (author: Joel Cunningham)
不借天光，兀自扎根，野蛮活成自己 (评论: 我是任何野蛮生长的事物)
豆友17Q67r-4r4评论: 我是任何野蛮生长的事物
评价: 推荐
via 豆瓣最受欢迎的乐评 (author: 豆友17Q67r-4r4)
豆友17Q67r-4r4评论: 我是任何野蛮生长的事物
评价: 推荐
via 豆瓣最受欢迎的乐评 (author: 豆友17Q67r-4r4)