Microsoft on Tuesday said it’s planning to take on one of the biggest advantages Apple products have, introducing new interoperability features to make its Windows 11 software for PCs talk to iPhones in order to display notifications, send messages, and make and receive calls.
The new feature, which Microsoft is calling Phone Link for iOS, will connect an iPhone and Windows 11 computer by Bluetooth radio, allowing “basic” support for calls, messages and app notifications. Initially offered in limited public testing, the software won’t allow people to participate in group message chats or to send multimedia messages with photos or videos.
“This builds on our continued efforts to bring you closer to what’s more important,” Panos Panay, Microsoft’s chief product officer, said in a blog post announcing the feature. The feature is part of a wider set of updates to Microsoft’s Windows 11 software to power PCs, which released about a year and a half ago.
Microsoft’s efforts with its Phone Link software are just the latest in a series of moves to more closely connect Windows computers with Apple’s popular devices and services.
Apple popularized many sync and messaging technologies for smartphones, particularly through its iMessage service for texting and iCloud service for photos, documents, contacts and calendars. It’s also used those technologies to closely connect its iPhones, iPad tablets and Mac computers, a move that industry watchers say helps Apple products stand out.
Over the past few years though, Microsoft’s introduced features to make Windows PCs more Apple-like, a revamped Apple-friendly photos app, more iCloud syncing and version of phone link software for devices powered by Google’s Android software.
Microsoft said that, as part of its Windows 11 update Tuesday, it’ll introduce new features for Android users too, including the ability to activate a Samsung phone’s personal hotspot from the computer. Samsung users will also be able to view websites they recently visited on their phone from their computer, Microsoft said. Both features have been available on Apple products for years.
Looking to upgrade your phone in 2023? Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are more budget-friendly alternatives to Apple and Samsung’s flagship devices, and right now you can grab an unlocked model with a free storage upgrade at Amazon. The 256GB Pixel 7 is down to $599, the same starting price as the 128GB version, and both the 256GB and 512GB Pixel 7 Pro configurations are $100 off too, making for some of the best Pixel 7 deals around right now.
Google’s Pixel 7 Pro boasts a 6.7-inch screen, up to 512GB of storage, 12GB of RAM and 5G connectivity. It offers a few key upgrades over 2021’s Pixel 6 Pro, including the second-gen Tensor G2 chip, improved cameras and a refined design. Its adaptive battery can last up to 72 hours when the extreme battery saver mode is activated, and it’s IP68-rated water- and dust-resistant to keep your phone safe from spills, drops and other hazards.
The Pixel 7 is essentially a smaller, cheaper version of the Pixel 7 Pro, though there isn’t a huge gulf in quality between the two for the difference in price. Its display is smaller and offers a lower refresh rate and resolution, the day-to-day battery life is shorter, and the cameras are less advanced, but it still won a spot on our list of the best phones on the market due to its stellar value for money.
The storage upgrade promotion at Amazon is slated to run until March 18, though specific models could sell out sooner than that.
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Between all your music, photos, movies, shows, work documents, games and everything else, the storage on your computer, phone or tablet can fill up pretty quickly. Which is why it’s always a good idea to have some extra storage on hand. And whether you’re looking for a portable storage drive, a new internal solid-state drive or just want to pick up some spare SD cards, now’s the time to buy, with Amazon offering up to 62% off select Samsung storage gear. There’s no set expiration on these deals, but with some items discounted by more than $150, there’s a good chance they won’t last for long.
Whether you need to backup your entire computer, or just want another microSD card for your Nintendo Switch, you’ll find what you’re looking for for less at this sale. The Samsung T7 is a portable SSD that boasts impressive read speeds of up to 1,050Mbps and a solid aluminum frame that protects it against falls of up to 6 feet. Right now you can pick up the 2TB model on sale for $150, which saves you $120 compared to the usual price.
Or, if you’re looking to upgrade your computer’s internal storage, you can snag this 870 Evo Sata III internal SSD with a substantial 4TB of storage for $300, which is $68 off. Just be sure to use the Confirmed Fit search at the top of the product page to make sure it’s compatible with your device.
And if you’re a photographer, you can never have enough SD cards on hand. Samsung’s Pro Plus cards are protected against water, extreme temperatures, X-rays, magnets and more, and they come with a USB card reader that makes it easy to upload your photos to your computer. You can snag a 128GB card for just $17, $19 off, or the 256GB card for just $24, saving you $39.
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These two cost more than most streaming services but they’re still cheaper than cable. A premium subscription lets you cut the cable TV cord while keeping features like an advanced DVR with program guide and extensive on-demand content. Both services offer a large selection of live channels, such as CNN, ESPN and TNT, as well as local stations ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and more. You can access them via media streamers such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV, your game console or your smart TV itself.
Sarah Tew/CNET
In general, we like YouTube TV best, because of a handful of important channels that Hulu lacks, including your local PBS station. It’s also $5 less expensive at $65 per month. However, Hulu also has an excellent selection of channels and adds a gigantic catalog of on-demand shows and movies as well as the Disney Bundle — Disney Plus and ESPN Plus — included in the $70 price.
With an excellent channel selection, easy-to-use interface and best-in-class cloud DVR, YouTube TV is the best cable TV replacement. It offers a $20 4K upgrade, but the downside is there isn’t much to watch at present. If you don’t mind paying a bit more than the Sling TVs of the world, YouTube TV offers the highest standard of live TV streaming.
Hulu’s greatest assets are the integration of a full complement of live TV channels with a massive catalog of on-demand content, and all for the one price. Hulu’s channel count is solid, including some must-have programming. Its price $70 includes Disney Plus and ESPN Plus. Starting Dec. 8, Hulu will change its Live TV packaging to include Disney’s new ad-supported plan for the $70 price, and offer higher-priced choices for people who don’t want to watch ads.
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Channels: YouTube wins but Hulu is solid too
The biggest difference comes down to channels. Comparing the total channel counts from our big list of the top 100 channels on every service, YouTube TV comes out on top with 79 from that list, compared to 73 on Hulu. That total doesn’t include every channel the services carry, just the ones in the top 100 as determined by editors at CNET, but it still provides a good indication.
The two share most major national channels including Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, ESPN, Fox News, NFL, TBS, USA Network and more, but there are a few differences.
Here’s a condensed version of that list showing the 15 of those 100 channels carried by one and not the other.
Major channel differences
Channel
YouTube TV
Hulu Plus Live TV
PBS
Yes
No
A&E
No
Yes
AMC
Yes
No
BBC America
Yes
No
BBC World News
Yes
No
Boomerang
No
Yes
History
No
Yes
IFC
Yes
No
Lifetime
No
Yes
NBA TV
Yes
No
Sundance TV
Yes
No
Tastemade
Yes
No
Vice
No
Yes
WE tv
Yes
No
Both services offer all four of the major local channels — ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC — in most areas of the country, and both also carry local affiliates from The CW and MyTV. Only YouTube TV carries PBS local stations; you can’t watch your local PBS affiliate live on Hulu.
Neither service offers many regional sports networks after both YouTube TV and Hulu dropped them in 2020. Beyond RSNs, however, YouTube TV has an advantage in national sports networks, with NBA TV available as part of its base package. Though YouTube TV used to have MLB Network as well, it dropped the channel earlier this year. You can pay another $11 to get the “Sports Plus” add-on that also includes Fox College Sports, GolTV, NFL RedZone and Fox Soccer Plus. Hulu users can sign up for a $10 package which includes NFL RedZone, Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, MAVTV Motorsports Network, TVG and TVG2.
Premium channels like HBO, Starz and Showtime are also available for extra fees, and Hulu has two optional channel packages. One is an add-on for $8 per month with 17 channels including MTV Classic, CNBC World, the Cooking Channel and Science, and the other is a Spanish-language package with seven channels for $5. YouTube TV doesn’t have any additional channel packages, although you can add individual channels like Shudder and CuriosityStream for additional fees.
The menus and interfaces on both are quite different from one another and from regular cable, and we like YouTube TV’s menus better overall.
YouTube TV: In general the YouTube TV interface is easier to use, and not just to people used to using regular YouTube. If you’re using the desktop or app versions, Google’s streamer offers a streamlined structure — even if it’s not as pretty as Hulu.
Hulu Plus Live TV: If it was all a matter of which interface is more fun, then Hulu would take it. Hulu’s look is brighter, and though it lacks YouTube’s comprehensive search it’s still relatively easy drill down into the kind of content you want to watch.
The difference in the number of simultaneous streams is worth noting, especially for families and other households who watch a lot of TV. YouTube TV lets you stream to three different devices — say, the living room TV, a bedroom TV and a tablet — at the same time, while Hulu lets you stream to two. Pay Hulu a hefty $10 extra per month and it will upgrade your number of streams to unlimited.
YouTube TV has an excellent cloud DVR but Hulu closed the gap with an upgrade in 2022. Both now have unlimited storage and let you fast-forward through commercials in recorded content, so while we still consider YouTube TV’s DVR the gold standard, Hulu’s is very good too.
On-demand and originals: Hulu with the runaway win
Only Murders in the Building is an Hulu exclusive
Hulu
YouTube TV includes on-demand TV shows and movies from participating networks and shows, much like your cable service, and also offers YouTube Originals commercial-free. But it pales in comparison to Hulu.
As we mentioned above, a Hulu Plus Live TV subscription unlocks all of the on-demand TV shows and movies available on the standard Hulu service, including thousands of episodes of network TV shows, as well as originals like The Bear, The Handmaid’s Tale, Only Murders in the Building, Pam & Tommy and the movie Palm Springs. It also includes a Disney Plus and ESPN Plus subscription, with their massive on-demand libraries.
Both services represent the peak of what live TV streaming has to offer, and both are better overall than the other two major premium options, FuboTV and DirecTV Stream. Your choice between the two comes down to cost, channel selection, usability and content, and in our book YouTube TV bests Hulu Plus Live TV in most of those areas. Hulu enables you to integrate a wide channel selection with its exemplary on-demand library which may be worth it for some. In the end though it’s all about having access to your favorite channels, so choose the service which gives you the channels you want.
Channel comparison
Below you’ll find a chart that’s a smaller version of this massive channel comparison. It contains the top 100 channels from each service. Some notes:
Yes = The channel is available on the cheapest pricing tier. That price is listed next to the service’s name.
No = The channel isn’t available at all on that service.
$ = The channel is available for an extra fee.
Not every channel a service carries is listed, just the “top 100” as determined by CNET’s editors. Minor channels like AXS TV, CNBC World, Discovery Life, GSN, POP and Universal Kids didn’t make the cut.
OnePlus has confirmed that its first foldable phone will launch in the second half of 2023. While the company hasn’t announced details, pricing or an exact release date, more information will be announced in the coming months.
“We want to launch a device that aims to be at the pinnacle experience of today’s foldable market,” said OnePlus President Kinder Liu in a statement ahead of the company’s event during the Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona.
OnePlus teased its foldable phone in February.
Eli Blumenthal/CNET
The OnePlus foldable was first teased in February following the launch of the company’s latest flagship phone, the OnePlus 11. OnePlus’ parent company Oppo has been a step ahead with folding phones, having just recently taken the wraps off its clamshell-style Find N2 Flip phone. It’s unclear if OnePlus will go with a similar clamshell design or a “book fold” form akin to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4.
During MWC, OnePlus also showed off its upcoming tablet — the OnePlus Pad — along with its Concept phone that uses liquid cooling and a liquid cooling dock that can be used with any phone.
It’s hard to beat the convenience and portability of a tablet, and these days you can find powerful models that can give you the functionality of a full workstation even when you’re on the go. If you can land on a good deal, you won’t have to pay an arm and a leg for one either. Right now, for example, you can get Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 Plus for just $500 — that’s a savings of $350. But this deal expires tonight, Feb. 28, so act soon if you want to snag one at this price.
Released in 2020, the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is the predecessor of the the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus, which was chosen as one of the best tablets for 2023. While it may not be the newest release, it still has a lot to offer for work and play, making it a solid option for the average person. It comes equipped with a large 12.4-inch AMOLED display with a 2,736×1,824-pixel screen resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, for bright, crisp visuals and smooth performance, along with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. And if you find you need a bit more, it’s a cinch to expand that — you can add up to 1TB of storage through a microSD card (sold separately).
This tablet also comes with a stylus so you can draw, take notes and do other detailed work right on the screen. And while that is the only accessory that comes with your purchase, you can also invest in a compatible keyboard for a more full workstation experience, if you choose. It also has an 8-megapixel front-facing camera and a 13-megapixel rear cam so you can snap pictures or make video calls. And the battery lasts up to 8 hours on a single charge, so you can use it all day.
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What is your mobile carrier doing to combat the climate crisis? It might not be something you’ve thought much about, but with increasing numbers of networks around the world aligning themselves with science-based targets, it’s easier than ever to see if the service you’re paying for is taking genuine action to reduce its environmental impact.
In a report released at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday, mobile industry body GSMA said that nearly a quarter of energy (24%) used by the mobile sector comes from renewable sources, up from 14% in 2020. In addition, 62 carriers globally have now committed to rapidly decreasing their direct and indirect emissions by 2030, representing 61% of the industry by revenue. This is an increase of 12 networks since the previous report published last April.
The GSMA is leading an industry-wide drive to ensure carriers reach net zero emissions by 2050. A key metric it’s using to measure the ambition of its members is their commitment to preventing global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius, the science-based target laid out in the Paris Agreement.
With the impacts of the climate crisis — from floods to wildfires to deadly heatwaves — increasingly being felt in regions around the world, there is growing pressure on all industries to prioritize transitioning to clean energy and ensure they’re playing an active role in preserving rather than harming our ecosystems. The mobile industry is no exception, and some networks are doing more than others to alleviate their environmental impact, which could make a difference to where you choose to spend your money.
On the hardware side, phone makers are investing heavily in giving phones a longer life and using more recycled materials in their products. But on the network side, companies are increasingly investing in finding ways to build and operate infrastructure using highly efficient methods that are less energy-intensive than those used in the past.
The biggest challenge for carriers, said John Giusti, chief regulatory office for the GSMA, is access to renewable energy. “The good news is that the industry is moving forward, with operators now directly purchasing 24% of their electricity from renewable sources, up from 18% in 2021 and 14% in 2020,” he said in the report. But with carrier demand outstripping supply, governments need to help expand access to renewable energy, he added.
Europe and North America, two of the regions most responsible for historic emissions, are leading the charge when it comes to ambitious sustainability commitments and actions. “It’s perhaps only fair because it’s parts of the world where they’re the most advanced climate wise, and therefore they have the most capability to actually reduce their emissions,” Steven Moore, head of climate action for the GSMA, said in an interview with CNET the week preceding MWC.
The GSMA’s report looked at actions by mobile operators across the world but called out T-Mobile as an example of a company making great strides to reduce its carbon impact in the US. It’s the first company in the US wireless sector to set a net zero goal validated by the Science Based Target Initiative covering all of its emissions, including those from across the supply chain and indirect emissions from purchased electricity. It’s also one of only a small handful of networks so far to set a net zero by 2040 target, instead of 2050.
Meanwhile, its main competitors, Verizon and AT&T have both aligned themselves with the 1.5 degrees pathway, and Verizon has committed to net zero emissions across the board by 2050. Moore said that he wouldn’t be surprised if networks in many places end up achieving net zero much earlier than 2050. “Once we start to invest, it’s incredible how quickly things can change,” he said.
YouTube wants videos to reach more people, regardless of what language they speak. In a blog post Thursday, the video site said it’s expanding the ability for creators to add multilanguage audio to videos, meaning people will have the option to watch many videos dubbed in their primary language.
“Whether it’s chess tutorials, a historical documentary on Rome, or a series of ghost hunting investigations in Italy, we can’t wait to see our creators continue to adopt this feature into their own content, and for our viewers to discover videos from international channels,” YouTube said in the post.
If you’re curious how you can use the feature to watch videos in your primary language, we’ll get into how you can do that below.
YouTube’s been testing the feature with a small group of creators, including Mr. Beast, over the past year. In testing, multilanguage dubbed videos saw a 15% watch time increase that derived from views in a video’s non-primary language, YouTube said. On average, people watched over 2 million hours of dubbed video daily in January alone.
To try out the feature, creators can add different audio tracks through YouTube’s Subtitles Editor tool when uploading a video. Creators can update existing content in their catalog through this tool as well.
Viewers can click the video’s settings in the bottom right and then click Audio Track, which opens up other audio tracks in different languages. “We want this to be a seamless experience,” YouTube said in the post, “so content will also default to match viewers’ preferred language and users will be able to search for multilingual content courtesy of translated video titles and descriptions.”
Performing a highly technical demonstration in front of a live audience of journalists is always a risky move on the part of a technology company. You can almost guarantee that tech will fail you at the very moment you need it to perform at its best.
But not this time. Nokia Product Marketing Chief Adam Ferguson made the brave and somewhat bold move of replacing the battery on one of the company’s three new budget phones live on camera, all while providing onlooking press with a running commentary of exactly what he was doing and why it’s so important.
Ferguson promised it would take him less than 5 minutes to complete the battery transplant, and though we can quibble over a few seconds either way, he fundamentally proved to be a man of his word.
“If someone like me — who isn’t particularly good with his hands, as you’ve probably seen from some of my shaky handling there — can do it while speaking to all of you, hopefully it demonstrates that absolutely anybody can,” he told us during the demo, which took place virtually, in the week preceding Mobile World Congress.
The Nokia G22, now awake following major surgery performed by an amateur in front of our eyes, is designed with repairability at its very core. Thanks to a partnership with tech repair company iFixit, owners of this phone, announced at MWC in Barcelona on Saturday, will be equipped with guides and support to fix their phones themselves when the time comes. All they’ll need is a guitar pick and a #00 screwdriver.
It puts Nokia, which isn’t even in the top five global smartphone brands, ahead of the game this week at the world’s biggest mobile show, where sustainability is a major theme. In the context of the global climate crisis, the problem of electronic waste has become an increasingly pressing concern for tech companies and for consumers. Ensuring the products we use have a long life and aren’t easily disposed of as soon as our battery starts to flop is a key step in reducing the environmental impact of our tech use.
“We’re seeing already that people are holding on to their phones for longer,” Steven Moore said in an interview during the lead-up to Mobile World Congress. Moore is head of climate action at mobile industry body GSMA, which hosts MWC. He said the average lifespan of a smartphone has already stretched from two to three years. Plus, he added, people are showing more interest in repairing their phones, and are open to purchasing refurbished models in the first place.
Nokia isn’t the first to do this. Since 2013, Fairphone, a Dutch social enterprise, has been focused on trying to make modular phones that have a smaller environmental footprint. Since last April, Apple has also been supporting people who want to take care of DIY fixes on their iPhones, through its Self Service Repair program.
But the difference right now is that DIY repairs are beginning to shift from being a niche perk to being an important headline feature of new phones. “As consumers increasingly demand more sustainable and longer-lasting devices, the ability to repair smartphones easily and affordably will become a key differentiator in the market,” Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said in a statement.
Nokia might not be the pioneer of the repairability trend, but it’s adopting the practice at a key time. This year at MWC sustainability is front and center, as companies across the mobile landscape strive to reduce their environmental impact in line with the GSMA’s goal of the mobile industry reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Any phone manufacturers who don’t come to the show this year with a well-rehearsed set of arguments for why they aren’t taking control of repairability options for their devices should be prepared to face criticism, Emma Mohr-McClune, chief analyst and practice lead at analysis firm Global Data, said in a statement.
“At present, operators are staying out of this argument, but at one point even operators will start demanding more choice in this regard,” she added.
With pressure mounting from consumers and from other areas of the mobile industry, it’ll be up to phone manufacturers to respond by making it easier to replace device parts such as batteries and screens, which often bear the brunt of long-term use. But it’s important that they don’t neglect software as part of this conversation either.
When OnePlus released the OnePlus 11 earlier this month, it extended its support period for up to four years of Android updates and an additional fifth year of security updates. Without the promise of long-term security updates such as this, an otherwise decent phone can become unusable.
Good future-proofing also doesn’t lessen the responsibility on phone makers to ensure devices are already as sustainable as possible before they even reach your hands.
According to Moore, 80% of the environmental footprint of a mobile phone has already happened before you take it out the box. “That really means that we need to consider the actual embodied emissions and environmental impact within the device,” he said.
The long-term vision for future phones, as laid out in a GSMA strategy paper released in November, is that one day our devices will be 100% recycled and recyclable, as well as made with 100% renewable energy.
“There’s no device at the moment that fits that description, but we’re already seeing really promising signs from some of the manufacturers on this,” Moore said. “There’s a lot that the industry can do [and] I think we’re just at the beginning.”
The battery life of your Mac, and how long it lasts, depends on several factors, including which applications you have running. If you keep your computer plugged in all the time, battery life shouldn’t be an issue, but if you’re unplugged and don’t have access to power, you need to figure out how to conserve energy. And that includes tracking which apps are big energy consumers — and closing them, if needed.
Not all apps are built the same, which means they’ll drain battery differently. A notes app may not use up too much power, but video editing software or a music player might. But instead of guessing, there’s a quick way to see which apps on your Mac are draining the most battery. Here’s how to check.
Quickly view which apps are draining your Mac’s battery the most
You can easily view which apps are draining your battery — with a single click, actually.
In the menu bar at the top of Mac’s screen, you should see a battery icon over the top-right. Click the battery icon to bring up a small menu and check the apps listed under Using Significant Energy.
If there’s an application listed there that you’re not currently using, close it to help conserve battery. All you have to do is go over to your Dock, right-click any open app and then hit Quit.
If you don’t see the battery icon in the menu bar, go to System Preferences > Battery and check the box next to Show battery status in menu bar.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET
Obviously you won’t be able to close your web browser or any other app you’re actively using, but if the app is just sitting there, running in the background, it’s better to just close it until you need it again or are connected to power. Not only will it save battery, it may also make your computer run smoother, especially if you have too many apps open at once.
