Category: Technologies

Basketball is back. After an offseason that saw a number of high-profile NBA stars change teams — Damian Lillard is now a Milwaukee Buck, Bradley Beal is a Phoenix Sun and Chris Paul is a Golden State Warrior — it’s time for the action to return to the hardwood. The regular season is an 82-game marathon that starts in October, runs through the holidays and Christmas Day games, includes the All-Star Game in February and concludes when the NBA playoffs end their own mini-marathon in June with the NBA Finals. And new for this year is a European soccer-like “In-Season Tournament” where teams compete for a newly created “NBA Cup.” That event starts on Nov. 3 and ends on Dec. 9.

That’s a lot of awesome basketball, and NBA fans looking stream their team throughout the year will need access to a few different services to catch every game. In addition to your regular regional sports network — the local channel that carries your team’s games week in and week out — you’ll also need ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV for nationally televised contests.

All out-of-market games will continue to air on NBA League Pass, which is a great choice if you follow a team in a different city from where you live. Getting the service for the full season (with the NBA TV channel included) costs $100, while a “Premium” option that includes in-arena feeds in place of commercials and the ability to watch three games at once runs $150 for the season. It’s important to note that local fans aren’t able to watch their team play on League Pass, as broadcasts of these contests air exclusively on regional sports networks. National games are similarly blacked out.

While you absolutely don’t need cable to watch basketball this year, it still might be the easiest and cheapest choice depending on where you live.

Read more: NHL in 2023: How to Watch, Stream Hockey Without Cable

Live TV streaming services vs. cable

As usual die-hard sports fans are beholden to regional sports networks, or RSNs, that carry the majority of the games for their local team(s). Examples include MSG in the New York area, Spectrum SportsNet in Los Angeles and Bally Sports Southwest in Dallas. These RSNs are usually included in local cable packages, so most cable subscribers never have to worry about gaining access to the broadcasts on these channels: They can simply turn on the TV and watch the game.

Cord-cutting basketball fans have a tougher path. Because of rights agreements, our favorite live TV streaming services like YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV don’t carry many RSNs. DirecTV Stream and Fubo are the exceptions; both offer numerous RSNs, including the Bally Sports channels (formerly Fox Sports), but they’re more expensive than other options.

Ultimately, depending on your location, getting a cable subscription that includes ESPN, ABC, TNT and the local RSN might actually be cheaper and easier than streaming — especially if it’s bundled with the home internet you’ll likely be getting anyway.

Read more: DirecTV Stream Review: Expensive, but the Best Option for Streaming NBA and NHL

What’s going on with Bally Sports, AT&T SportsNet and other regional sports networks?

Diamond Sports Group, which owns the Bally Sports regional sports networks, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and it remains to be seen what this means for watching basketball on those RSNs this season. Bally Sports airs games for 15 teams, or half the league. For now, games will air on those stations as they always have, but the situation could change.

Similar to what MLB had to do this year for the San Diego Padres, the NBA has confirmed to CNET that it’s ready to take over broadcasting and distributing games should it need to. Bally Sports missed a payment period to pay the Padres, resulting in the Padres ending the contract and MLB taking over the team’s broadcast rights midseason.

Bally Sports’ NBA teams include the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs.

It isn’t just Diamond Sports Group that’s having RSN issues. Warner Bros. Discovery — owner of AT&T SportsNet, which aired games for the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz — has similarly said earlier this year that it was leaving the RSN business, which could lead to some shifts for fans watching those teams.

The Phoenix Suns (formerly on Bally Sports) and Jazz (previously on AT&T SportsNet) have already announced new partners. Both will be making their games available free over-the-air (with an antenna).

The Rockets (formerly on AT&T SportsNet), meanwhile, are now on a new Space City Home Network, which the team created in partnership with baseball’s Houston Astros after the clubs acquired their local SportsNet channel from Warner Bros. Discovery.

What about streaming just my team?

In addition to making their games available locally over-the-air, the Suns and Jazz have also launched new streaming services for those looking to stream in-market.

The Suns’ streaming service will run $110 for the season (or $15 per month if paying monthly), while the Jazz’s service will run $125.50 for the year (or $15.50 per month if paying monthly).

They aren’t alone either. Other teams offering their own in-market streaming options include the Brooklyn Nets (YES Network, $20 monthly or $200 annually), New York Knicks (MSG Plus, $30 monthly, $310 annually), and Washington Wizards (Monumental Sports Network, $20 monthly or $200 annually).

For those who still have teams with Bally Sports, you can actually get the channel without subscribing to cable. Called Bally Sports Plus, the streaming service offers users in its coverage area a way to stream just the Bally Sports channels. The service costs $20 a month or around $190 a year for your local Bally Sports channel, including NBA and NHL games (plus MLB games in certain areas). In markets where you normally have two different Bally Sports channels, you can choose to only buy one, or you can bundle them together for $30 a month.

While the normal pricing is $190 annually, the service is currently offering an option to sign up for a full season at $125.

Bally Sports Plus uses your billing ZIP code to determine which channels are available to you, though you’ll be able to log into your channels from anywhere in the country. You can check your options at Bally Sports’ website here.

It is worth noting that this option does not include national games like the ones that are broadcast on ABC, ESPN or TNT.

NBA League Pass, NBA TV and blackouts

For NBA fans looking to watch a ton of out-of-market basketball, a subscription to NBA League Pass has a lot to offer. You can get the whole NBA slate for $100 for the season, with commercials and one device, or $150 for the season for a “Premium” option that includes in-arena feeds instead of commercials, and the ability to watch on three devices at once (though the price is up from $130 last year).

Those interested in following only a single team can buy a Team Pass for $90 for the season. College students who are actively enrolled can get 40% off the monthly price of the regular League Pass (normally $15 per month).

The catch, of course, with any League Pass plan is “out-of-market.” Most fans are in-market, meaning they follow the local team, and unfortunately for them RSNs have broadcast exclusivity in the region that they cover. That means local NBA games are blacked out on NBA League Pass.

If you’re living in Los Angeles, for example, you won’t be able to watch Lakers or Clippers games on NBA League Pass. The same goes for Knicks or Nets fans in New York, Bucks fans in Milwaukee and so on. The only way to watch most of those home team games in your home market is to get a service that has the local RSN, namely Spectrum SportsNet, Bally Sports SoCal, MSG Network, YES Network or Bally Sports Wisconsin.

Services like NBA League Pass use IP addresses to block out games in viewers’ regions — you’ll just get a black screen or message telling you it’s unavailable if you try to watch those games. That’s why League Pass is ideal for those who want to follow one or more of the teams based in cities other than their own, aka out-of-market teams, but for local fans it’s not as useful.

Some RSNs, particularly the Bally Sports networks and other options mentioned above, will allow you to pay for their channel without signing up for cable or a streaming TV service.

NBA CrunchTime: Like free RedZone, but for some NBA nights

The NBA last year began offering its own spin on the popular NFL RedZone channel with a “whip around” show it calls CrunchTime. This show, available for free on the NBA app, bounces around live games and is designed to show you all the action, particularly close contests.

For this season, the NBA says it is doubling the episode count, though it hasn’t said exactly how many shows it will produce. It also plans to make CrunchTime available during the in-season tournament’s group play stage (except for the one night when there are just five games). Most of these “CrunchTime days” will take place on Monday nights, but there will be times when the league will stream it on other days.

You don’t need League Pass or any other subscription to watch CrunchTime making this a more accessible way to get your basketball fix, even if it’s just one day a week. You will need the NBA app and to make an NBA ID (both of which are free).

DirecTV Stream: Simplest for fans of the local team at $109 for Choice package

For those determined to watch their local basketball team without a cable or satellite TV subscription, a live TV streaming service is the best bet. While it is pricey, DirecTV Stream is the best option for most people, particularly those where the local games air on Bally Sports networks or those looking for the YES Network (Nets fans in New York) or Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers fans in Los Angeles).

DirecTV Stream requires its soon-to-be $109-per-month Choice package to get RSNs, though this option also includes ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV, so you should be all set for basketball. If you live in a Ballys area, you could pair a Bally Sports Plus package with something like Sling Orange and save a few bucks per month. Same for those in New York, Phoenix, Utah or Washington, DC, who can pair their RSNs streaming option with a cheaper TV provider.

Sling Orange runs $40 per month and includes ESPN and TNT while Bally Sports Plus or those local RSN options — as mentioned above — generally run $20 to $30 per month depending on your area and your team. Getting NBA TV runs $11 per month with the Sports Extra add-on.

All told, however, you’d be paying $51 monthly for Sling (including the add-on for NBA TV) and another $20 or $30 for an RSN, which could be a sizable savings compared with DirecTV. It is worth noting that you will need to switch between different apps to stream everything.

Another possible pairing is Fubo, which has the Bally Sports RSNs, and a streaming service like Max. Fubo lacks TNT, but Max has begun streaming live sports under its Bleacher Report (B/R) Sports banner. You will need to get a Max subscription, which starts at $10 per month for the ad-supported version and next year pay another $10 per month for live sports. Combined with Fubo, that’s $95 per month for live basketball.

Below is a chart of all of the NBA teams in the US and their corresponding RSNs.

Note: None of the (US-based) services carry the RSN for the Toronto Raptors. Fans in the US looking to watch Pascal Siakam and co. need to use NBA League Pass to get all the games that aren’t either on your local RSN or on a US national broadcast.

Some key takeaways:

• The RSNs above are typically available onlyto local subscribers. Refer to the individual service’s details below to find out if you live in a place where you can receive a particular RSN.
• The Utah Jazz’s new broadcast network is not, as of press time, available on any major streaming TV provider. The Phoenix Suns’ new broadcast home is currently available only on Fubo.
• DirecTV Stream’s Choice package includes NBA TV and most of the RSNs for basketball, with the exception of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Sixers fans hoping to watch Joel Embiid and co. will have to look elsewhere.
• They could jump over to Fubo, Hulu Plus Live TV or YouTube TV, which all carry NBC Sports Philadelphia, but fans of other teams will mostly be out of luck. While Fubo has most of the league covered, Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV only have six RSNs. Sling TV doesn’t offer a single RSN.

One other note: If you don’t recognize the name of some of these channels, don’t worry. What were formerly Fox Sports RSNs have been rebranded as Bally Sports, because the channels are no longer owned by Fox but Sinclair, which partnered with casino group Bally’s to rename them.

NBC Sports Washington, meanwhile is now the Monumental Sports Network. The Houston Rockets now play on Space City Home Network (formerly AT&T SportsNet Southwest).

Best options for nationally broadcast games

Aside from DirecTV Stream and Fubo, the odds are long that a live TV streaming service carries the RSN for your local team’s games, which makes the other four services better bets for watching nationally televised games.

Each live TV streaming service offers a free trial, allows you to cancel anytime and requires a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.

The 49ers are coming off their first loss of the season. After a defeat in Cleveland last week, the 5-1 Niners will stay on the road and look to get back to their winning ways in Minnesota on Monday night against the 2-4 Vikings. The Vikings won last week in Chicago and will try to make it two straight victories without their All Pro receiver, Justin Jefferson, in the lineup. The 49ers are also banged up. Brock Purdy’s favorite weapons, running back Christian McCaffrey and wideout Deebo Samuel, left last week’s game with injuries and might not play Monday night. The status of 49ers left tackle Trent Williams is also uncertain heading into Monday night.

The 49ers-Vikings game kicks off tonight at 5:15 p.m. PT (8:15 p.m. ET) on ABC and ESPN. You can flip over to ESPN2 during the game to catch the ManningCast with brothers Peyton and Eli calling the game with guests popping on to chat with the former NFL greats.

Keep reading to see your viewing options for Monday Night Football. And with YouTube and YouTube TV now the exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket, along with games also streaming on Paramount Plus, Peacock and ESPN Plus, there’s lots for NFL fans to keep track of this season. Check out our picks for the best live TV streaming services for NFL fans in 2023.

How to watch MNF without cable

If you don’t have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch Monday Night Football with a live TV service. The good news for football fans is that ABC and ESPN are available on each of the five major streaming services.

All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.

Samsung’s Z-series phones are at the top of the pack in an increasingly complex and saturated foldables market, especially with the recent release of the OnePlus Fold. Even so, the Z Fold 5easily tops the charts when it comes to value for money and features, and it’s even one of our favorite foldables. The best of the best comes at a price, but there are some deals you can take advantage of.

Select retailers are offering as much as $300 off unlocked models, and you can save even more if you’ve got an old phone to trade in or perhaps need a new line of service. And to help you take full advantage of these offers, below, we’ve rounded up some of the best Z Fold 5 deals out there right now. We’ll continue to update this page as offers come and go, so be sure to check back often for the best prices available.

What colors does the Galaxy Z Fold 5 come in?

There are three main color variants for the new Galaxy Z Fold 5: phantom black, cream and icy blue. However, there are also two exclusive variants — gray and blue — that are only available if you order through Samsung directly.

How much does the Galaxy Z Fold 5 cost?

The new Galaxy Z Fold 5 retains the same list prices as the previous-gen Z Fold 4, and starts at $1,800 before any discounts or offers are applied.

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 (256GB): $1,800.
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 (512GB): $1,920.
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 (1TB): $2,160.

Best Galaxy Z Fold 5 deals

You don’t have to spend top dollar to get excellent noise-canceling capabilities these days. While there are plenty of high-end pairs that list for more than $400, there are some great budget-friendly options out there, too. And, right now, you can get a pair for 50% off. Amazon currently has the JBL Live 660NC headphones on sale for just $100, which saves you $100 compared to the usual price. There’s no set expiration for this discount, so we’d recommend getting your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out.

These over-ear JBL headphones didn’t crack our list of the best noise-canceling pairs of 2023, but they’re a much more competitive option when you can pick them up for half the usual price. They feature adaptive noise canceling that helps you tune out distractions, while still increasing ambient sounds so you can stay safe while you’re out and about. They’re equipped with 40mm drivers for powerful and balanced sound, and boast an impressive battery life of up to 50 hours on a single charge (or up to 40 hours with noise canceling enabled). They also support hands-free control, allowing you to easily access Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant.

These JBL headphones are a pretty great value at just $100, but you can also check out our full roundup of all the best headphones and earbuds deals for even more bargains on pairs from Apple, Bose, Samsung and more.

If “travel more” is permanently at the top of your to-do list, this is a bundle you won’t want to pass up. For just $200, the 2024 Travel Hacker Bundle from StackSocial includes lifetime access to Rosetta Stone language learning software, Dollar Flight Club airfare deals and much more. The entire bundle costs less than the regular list price for Rosetta Stone alone, making this a great deal whether you’re a travel enthusiast or just looking to learn a new language or save on a flight or two. There’s no set expiration date for this deal, so we recommend making your purchase sooner rather than later.

Rosetta Stone is one of our top language learning apps thanks to its speech recognition technology and immersive content. Whether you’re trying to master a language or just boost your conversational skills before you travel, Rosetta Stone is one of the most effective programs. It offers reading, writing and speaking practice for 24 languages, including Spanish, Italian, French, German and Mandarin.

You’ll also get a Premium lifetime subscription to Dollar Flight Club, valued at $69 a year. Once you set up your preferences, which can include up to four departure airports, you’ll receive low-fare deal alerts in your inbox or via text so you can snag the deals as fast as possible. Premium also includes 50% off a variety of products, services and experiences on trips.

The 2024 Travel Hacker Bundle also includes a lifetime subscription to RealVPN, a virtual private network that uses high-grade AES-256 encryption to help you browse the web more privately when away from home — ideal for travelers regularly on public Wi-Fi. And you’ll gain lifetime access to the 2023 Travel Hacker Bundle course from SkillSuccess, which has 79 hours of content around travel hacks, budget travel, travel photography, moving abroad and more.
The deal also states that any unredeemed licenses can be returned for store credit within 30 days of purchase. Once your license is redeemed, all sales are final.

Read more: Prepare Your Home for Vacation: 9 Things You Need to Do Before You Leave

From Azeroth to Pandaria, from the Dry Steppes of Sanctuary all the way to Candy Kingdom, the world of Activision Blizzard just got even bigger.

If, like me, you’ve played the classic Blizzard games endlessly on PC, Microsoft has potentially game-changing (literally) news for you: You’ll soon be able to access these classic games in more formats and places.

The biggest gaming news of the year came on Friday the 13th, when Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of gaming studio Activision Blizzard finally closed, with the mammoth gaming studio joining the Xbox team along with popular franchises Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft.

“Today we begin a new chapter as we officially become a part of the Microsoft family, uniting with the amazing Xbox team and co-creating the future of gaming together,” Activision Blizzard wrote on Oct. 13. “To the reapers, fighters, rogues, and airstrikers,
The sharpshooters, revivers, healers, and bubble bursters, Sorcerers, shamans, slayers and survivors, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for playing with us.”

It was something of an epic quest just for Microsoft to get here in the first place. The acquisition, announced in January 2022, faced resistance across the world, with regulators in the US, the EU, the UK and New Zealand concerned that it would lead to a lack of competition in the gaming sector, as it would put Microsoft into the mix of the top three video game publishers in the world along with Tencent and Sony.

There’s a lot that will happen because of this deal, both within Activision Blizzard and with the games it produces, the cloud-streaming subscription services that’ll get access to those games and whether Sony and Nintendo benefit from this. I’m here to walk you through what we know, what we don’t know yet and what we can wish for.

Ready Player One (and two) on PS5 and Nintendo

To get the acquisition through, Microsoft promised not to lock down Activision Blizzard games to its Xbox consoles. This suggestion of more cross-console compatibility also means lovers of the PC games from Blizzard may soon be able to play in other places.

While I’m hopeful that StarCraft II will be making its way to the Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 5 so I can resume losing 2v2 battles online, it’s mostly unknown exactly which games will be added to which consoles.

We can rest assured, though, that Call of Duty will be staying on the PlayStation platform under a 10-year “binding agreement” between Microsoft and Sony as confirmed by Xbox boss Phil Spencer in July. Through a cloud gaming deal with Ubisoft, Activision games could also be coming to the PS5 through the Ubisoft Plus streaming service.

Microsoft had earlier reached a 10-year deal to bring the Call of Duty series to Nintendo consoles. It’s unknown yet if any other games will be coming to the Switch.

There’s also a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on Valve’s Steam service, but questions remain on whether it’ll come to the Steam Deck handheld console.

Activision Blizzard games on streaming services

Another of Microsoft’s big promises when pushing through the acquisition was that it would bring the games acquired to streaming services, negating the need for you to buy physical copies of the games in favor of just downloading them right onto your PC or console. There are already multiple ways this will happen.

First, Xbox has started work on bringing Activision, Blizzard and King game franchises to Xbox Game Pass “and other platforms,” with an update on the process expected in the months ahead.

Second, Microsoft sold cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft in August as part of an agreement to get the acquisition approved by the UK regulatory authority, in an effort to bypass concerns over creating an anti-competitive gaming market.

The deal with Ubisoft contains “perpetual cloud streaming rights for Call of Duty and all other current Activision Blizzard games and those released over the next 15 years,” Ubisoft said on Oct.13. Ubisoft has the rights to license the games individually to third-party streaming providers as well.

Third, Microsoft made a 10-year agreement with Nvidia earlier this year to allow continued access to Xbox games on the GeForce Now cloud gaming platform and to add in Activision Blizzard games once the acquisition was approved.

Last, if you live in the European Economic Area, Microsoft is required to allow any cloud streaming service to license Activision games for free so players who own copies of those games can play for free.

Read more: Here Are the Best Game Subscription Services

A gamer’s game changer

It’s not just the Blizzard worlds and Call of Duty mega franchise. Microsoft now also owns console darling Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, the King’s Quest reboot on PC and mobile juggernaut Candy Crush Saga.

Before now, Microsoft hasn’t been much involved in the mobile gaming space, but Candy Crush, the third highest-grossing mobile game worldwide in 2023, changes that.

And by acquiring Activision Blizzard’s suite of PC games, Microsoft will become more competitive with the Epic Games Store and Valve’s Steam, as it will have both the Microsoft Store and Blizzard.net. Games like World of Warcraft have a huge, loyal customer base — the MMORPG is estimated to have 130 million subscribers and 1.2 million daily players this month — that now transfers to Microsoft.

Looking forward, as the studio no doubt has multiple games — including an unnamed Survival game — in the works, Microsoft likely has its own ideas of what it wants developed, expanded or scrapped.

Judging by the games featured in a trailer announcing the acquisition’s closure, Microsoft is especially interested in Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Crash Bandicoot, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Spyro.

IDC gaming analyst Lewis Ward told CNET he thinks it’s unlikely Microsoft will change Activision Blizzard’s roadmap right out of the gate, sticking with the studio’s plans through 2024 at least. But he believes the exit of current CEO Bobby Kotick “will help lift a cloud from the Activision Blizzard brand.”

“The acquisition could even breathe new life into smaller games and older franchises like Crash Bandicoot, Hearthstone, Spyro and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater because they may fill a hole in the Game Pass lineup,” Ward added.

From a development perspective, the acquisition has the potential to prevent indie games from being made. It’s likely Microsoft would focus its budget on pushing in-house content into its Game Pass service rather than giving smaller indie studios the budget to develop their own games for Xbox, Ward says.

Expanding Game Pass may become a primary driver for whatever Microsoft decides to do next with the newly acquired games.

“It’s likely that larger undisclosed titles, especially if they are reboots or sequels, have been in the works and will continue to receive support and prioritization under Microsoft, especially if those games will bolster player adoption of Microsoft’s Game Pass,” a board member of the International Game Developers Association, who asked that we not use their name, told CNET.

Changes to gaming culture

Stepping back from the games themselves for a moment, let’s hope that Microsoft has a positive impact across the workplace culture inside Activision Blizzard. The gaming studio has faced accusations of fostering a toxic “frat boy” atmosphere, in an ongoing lawsuit brought by the state of California (Activision has countersued). A labor union has filed a complaint over alleged intimidation.

In 2021, Activision Blizzard agreed to pay $18 million to settle a lawsuit from the US Equal Employment Opportunity over allegations of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation, with former CEO J. Allen Brack stepping down and more than 20 workers being fired.

Microsoft’s 2022 diversity report cites women as making up 30.7% of its workforce. Activision Blizzard’s sits at 25% as of the end of 2022. While employee numbers are an indication of diversity efforts, they don’t tell the whole story: The environment in which people work is also critical for making impactful, inclusive games in 2023 and ahead.

When announcing the acquisition in January 2022, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed how he had shifted Microsoft’s intensely competitive inner workings, and said Spencer would do the same within Activision Blizzard.

“The culture of our organization is my No. 1 priority,” Nadella said at the time. “We are supportive of the goals and the work Activision Blizzard is doing and we also recognize that after the close, we will have significant work to do in order to continue to build a culture where everyone can do their best work.”

Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard roster of games

For the record, here are all the Activision Blizzard gaming series now owned by Microsoft:

PC and console games from Blizzard:

• Warcraft
• World of Warcraft
• Overwatch
• Hearthstone
• Diablo
• Heroes of the Storm
• StarCraft 2

Console games from Activision:

• Call of Duty
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
• Crash Bandicoot
• Spyro
• Skylanders
• King’s Quest
• Prototype
• Geometry Wars

Mobile games from King:

• Candy Crush
• Pet Rescue
• Farm Heroes
• Rebel Riders
• Bubble Witch
• Diamond Diaries
• Pyramid Solitaire
• Blossom Blast

The continued rise of Xbox

Microsoft’s various 10-year deals with competitors mean there will be no immediate impacts of the acquisition on Sony’s PlayStation or in the Nintendo space. But over time, it’s likely to benefit Microsoft in the console wars.

“If you think about it, Sony’s customers will now be paying Microsoft to play CoD and all those other franchises,” IDC’s Ward said. “It’s just a huge sea change in terms of the flow of money, and potentially some customer-related information, moves around the gaming ecosystem.”

Activision Blizzard’s exit from being an independent studio to become part of the Microsoft empire will have far-reaching consequences across all gaming platforms worldwide: mobile, PC, consoles and streaming.

Whether our favorite games are rebooted, scrapped or greenlit, Microsoft now wields much greater power to decide how, where and what we play.

The iPhone 15 initially won me over with its sleek matte design; convenient USB-C charging; easier multitasking thanks to the Dynamic Island; and much improved camera. Even though some of the iPhone 15’s standout features debuted last year on the iPhone 14 Pro, they still felt fresh and new to someone like me, who was coming from an iPhone 12.

One month later, those opinions still hold true. The iPhone 15 had a somewhat rocky launch, after a wave of news reports and social media posts suggested that some iPhone 15 Pro models were overheating. But I experienced only one instance in which my iPhone 15 felt noticeably warm, leading me to believe this wasn’t a consistent problem. Apple also released a software update to address the issue, so my overall opinion of the phone remains unchanged.

Now that I’ve had more time with the iPhone 15, I’ve also gotten a better understanding of its battery life, charging speeds and overall performance. I also had the chance to try out the new Precision Finding feature for pinpointing a friend’s location, which works only with other iPhone 15 models.

A closer look at battery life and charging

I’ve been using the standard 6.1-inch iPhone 15 for almost a month, and it’s more than capable of getting through a full day on a single charge. I rarely find myself reaching for a charger during the workday, and I’ve never worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it to an after-work event like happy hour with co-workers.

I recently attended a close friend’s wedding, and it was probably the busiest day I’ve had since switching to the iPhone 15. My day started with hair and makeup at around 9:30 a.m. and ended the following morning, once the after-party wrapped up at about 2:30. Despite charging for only a few minutes before I headed to the venue, the iPhone 15 still lasted the whole day — even after streaming music for several hours as the bridal party was getting ready.

Still, it’s worth noting that long battery life is typical of new smartphones, since the battery is fresh. As Apple explains on its website, a battery’s capacity decreases as it ages. The battery in the iPhone 15 I’ve been using still has 100% of its maximum capacity, while the one in my 3-year-old iPhone 12 is down to 86%.

In addition to anecdotal information on battery life, CNET reviewers run two battery tests on smartphones: a 45-minute general usage test and a 3-hour video streaming test. The general test is meant to see how much everyday tasks like scrolling through social media and making a video call drain the battery. The second test shows how video streaming taxes the device’s battery. We measure the phone’s battery life every hour during the streaming test.

Take a look at the results below to see how the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus fared during these tests.

The iPhone 15 can replenish 50% of its battery in 30 minutes using a 20W adapter, while the 15 Plus can refill the same amount in 35 minutes, according to Apple. The iPhone 15 Plus seems to line up with that, charging from 20% to 67% in 30 minutes. The regular iPhone 15, on the other hand, went from 20% to 73% in the same period of time, also aligning with Apple’s estimates.

The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus support 7.5W charging when using a standard Qi wireless charger and 15W when using a MagSafe charger. And the difference is very noticeable. The iPhone 15 Plus refilled only 5% of its battery after charging via a Qi wireless charger for 30 minutes. But when using a Belkin MagSafe wireless charging stand, it went from 65% to 86%. The smaller iPhone 15 charged a bit faster when using a Qi wireless charger, going from 15% to 28% in 30 minutes. But like its larger sibling, it replenished its battery much more quickly when charging via MagSafe. After half an hour, it went from 28% to 50%.

The iPhone 15 makes it easier to find your friends

You’ve been able to share your location with other iPhone users for years, but Apple took that a step further with the iPhone 15. Apple’s new phones include a feature called Precision Finding for Find My, which literally points you in the right direction of the person you’re trying to find.

However, this works only if both parties have an iPhone 15, since the feature requires Apple’s new ultra wideband chip. That limits its appeal, since you can’t use it unless your friends and family members also happened to upgrade their phones recently.

Still, I imagine it’ll become standard in new iPhones moving forward, which means it could become handy over time. It’s Apple’s way of giving iPhone owners yet another reason to stay within the iOS ecosystem instead of switching to Android.

I tried this out with one of the only other people I know who has an iPhone 15: my husband, who also happens to be a tech journalist. To put it to the test, I told him to hide in a random aisle in our local grocery store while I waited outside. It took a few moments for the iPhone to lock onto his location, but it led me to the exact aisle in a matter of minutes.

Camera, Dynamic Island and other features

I covered the new 48-megapixel camera, Dynamic Island, USB-C and general performance in my initial review of the iPhone 15. But I have some additional thoughts to share now that I’ve spent more time with the device.

The Dynamic Island can be helpful for multitasking. Though I don’t use it to keep tabs on my Uber’s ETA as much as I thought I would, I do use it whenever I’m squeezing a workout into my lunch break during the week. It lets me keep Slack open on the screen so I don’t miss anything important while still allowing me to jump to the next track in my Spotify playlist.

The switch to USB-C has been really convenient, although there are some instances in which I find myself digging for a Lightning charger to power up accessories like my Magic Mouse. But another cool thing I’ve tried since publishing my initial review is hooking up my iPhone to my work monitor using a USB-C to HDMI cable. It’s not as smooth and optimized as Samsung’s Dex mode, since it essentially just mirrors the iPhone’s screen. I can’t imagine why anyone would use this method instead of AirPlay, but it does work.

The A16 Bionic processor feels quick and snappy, just as you’d expect. I ran two benchmarks on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus: One called Geekbench 6 for measuring everyday performance and another called 3DMark Wild Life Extreme for testing graphics performance. The iPhone 15 scored higher than the iPhone 14 on both tests.

The new 48-megapixel camera is a major upgrade compared with the camera in older phones like the iPhone 12. I shared some camera samples in my initial review, but here’s another one to underscore my point. The photo on the left was taken with the iPhone 15, while the one on the right was shot on the iPhone 12. There’s so much more contrast and detail in the iPhone 15’s image compared with the iPhone 12’s.

Overall thoughts

The iPhone 15 is a welcome upgrade for folks with older phones. The Dynamic Island finally helps Apple’s standard iPhone catch up to Android when it comes to multitasking; the camera feels significantly improved; and battery life is long enough to get you through a day and then some.

My initial criticisms also still stand: I’d love to see the regular iPhone gain an always-on display, since that feature is considered standard across almost every other smartphone in 2023. Precision Finding for Find My would also be much more useful if it worked with more iPhone models.

But overall the iPhone 15 is a great choice for people who are committed to Apple’s ecosystem, are upgrading from a phone that’s more than two years old, and don’t need all the iPhone 15 Pro’s bells and whistles.