Microsoft on Thursday filed a response to a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit aiming to block its $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, arguing that it won’t hurt competition in the video game industry.
The FTC said earlier this month in its lawsuit challenging the acquisition that the software giant will “harm competition” among game console makers including Sony and Nintendo. Microsoft countered in its filing that the acquisition is about helping its Xbox unit to become more competitive.
“Xbox wants to grow its presence in mobile gaming, and three quarters of Activision’s gamers and more than a third of its revenues come from mobile offerings,” Microsoft said in its 37-page response. “Xbox also believes it is good business to make Activision’s limited portfolio of popular games more accessible to consumers, by putting them on more platforms and making them more affordable.”
The deal, announced earlier this year,is the largest ever for the software maker and also within the videogame industry. Microsoft, which also makes the Xbox video game console,has been speaking with regulators around the world in an effort to gainapproval for its acquisition. Microsoft earlier said it expects tocomplete the deal sometime around the summer of 2023.
The FTC’s move against Microsoft marks one of the US government’s biggest efforts to take on the tech industry, which has witnessed companies like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta becoming some of the most highly valued companies on the planet. Amid all that growth, competitors and regulators have been asking whether the tech industry has too much power and whether companies have been acting as monopolies.
The agency argued in its Dec. 8 lawsuit against the software giant’s acquisition of the Call of Duty maker, saying Microsofthad used earlier acquisitions to make several high-profile upcoming titles like the space exploration game Starfield and the vampire shooting game Redfall exclusive to devices powered by its software. Microsoft said it offered Sony the right to sell the military shooter as part of its PlayStation Plus service, but”Sony refuses to deal,” Microsoft said in its filing.
“The acquisition of a single game by the third-place consolemanufacturer cannot upend a highly competitive industry,” Microsoft saidin its response. “That is particularly so when the manufacturer hasmade clear it will not withhold the game. The fact that Xbox’s dominantcompetitor has thus far refused to accept Xbox’s proposal does notjustify blocking a transaction that will benefit consumers.”
Microsoft said it hopes an amicable resolution can be found that benefits all in the industry.
“Even with confidence in our case, we remain committed to creativesolutions with regulators that will protect competition, consumers, andworkers in the tech sector,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and vicechair, said in a statement.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick also defended the deal in a separate statement Thursday, saying that”There is no sensible, legitimate reason for our transaction to beprevented from closing.”
The FTC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
NFL Sunday Ticket is heading to YouTube. After months of speculation, the league and Google announced a partnership to stream all out-of-market football games in the US, starting next football season, in the fall of 2023. The games will be available to watch on YouTube TV and YouTube’s Primetime Channels service.
This is big news, but as a football fan you probably have plenty of questions about this partnership and what it will mean. We don’t have all the information yet, but let’s try to answer some of the biggest questions now.
Will NFL Sunday Ticket be free on YouTube?
It will not be free or even simply included in the base $65 per month YouTube TV package. “There will be a price for Sunday Ticket,” Brent Lawton, vice president of media strategy and business development at the NFL, said in a call with reporters Thursday afternoon.
The NFL and Google have not announced how much Sunday Ticket will cost next season, but you will have to pay some type of subscription fee. In the press release announcing the deal, the league says that Sunday Ticket will be available as “an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels.”
Lawton says that pricing will be “at YouTube’s discretion” though he noted that “there is sort of a pathway to create some different bundles down the road.” What those bundles might look like or how much they will cost, however, remains unclear.
NFL Sunday Ticket is heading to YouTube in 2023.
Screenshot by Eli Blumenthal/CNET
How much does Sunday Ticket cost now?
DirecTV, which has offered Sunday Ticket since its inception in 1994, charged around $300 for the base Sunday Ticket package this past season. A “Max” version that offered a DirecTV-specific version of RedZone and allowed for multiple streams cost $400 for the season.
Do I need to subscribe to YouTube TV to get Sunday Ticket?
No. Google will offer Sunday Ticket in two ways. One will be an add-on for YouTube TV, the company’s existing live TV streaming service that currently costs $65 per month and is designed for cord-cutters who don’t subscribe to cable TV.
If you don’t want to sign up for YouTube TV, however, you will still be able to get Sunday Ticket through YouTube Primetime Channels.
What are YouTube Primetime Channels?
YouTube Primetime Channels, which launched in November, allows you to subscribe to services like Starz, Showtime and Paramount Plus and watch them directly on YouTube without the need to bounce between individual apps. Each requires a monthly fee. With Primetime Channels, you will be able to sign up for Sunday Ticket on its own for a fee, without needing to also shell out for YouTube TV.
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What does Sunday Ticket include? Can I watch my local NFL team?
Sunday Ticket does not have every NFL game. It allows you to watch all “out-of-market” NFL games on Sundays that air on CBS and Fox. Games airing on your local CBS or Fox station, as well as national games on CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, NFL Network or streaming services like Amazon and ESPN Plus, are not included. Instead, they’re blacked out on the service.
Sunday Ticket also does not include the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl, which are all nationally televised.
If you pay for YouTube TV, Google’s $65-per-month cable alternative, those CBS, Fox, ESPN and NFL Network channels are already included, so you’ll be able to watch all the NFL action that isn’t tied to a streaming service like Amazon’s Prime Video or ESPN Plus.
If you subscribe through YouTube Primetime Channels, you likely will still need to sign up for a different live TV streaming service or cable package to get the traditional channels and local broadcasts, including games airing on your local CBS or Fox station.
Yes. YouTube TV has offered the NFL Network and the RedZone channel — the league’s whip-around channel that bounces between games on Sundays — since 2020 as an $11-per-month add-on.
The league said today that “under the expanded relationship, the carriage agreement has been extended.”
When will this Sunday Ticket deal start?
The deal will start with the 2023 NFL regular season, due to kick off next fall. NFL Sunday Ticket for the rest of the 2022 NFL regular season, due to end on Jan. 8, 2023, will remain exclusive to DirecTV.
The NFL confirmed that YouTube will have the Sunday Ticket rights for seven years.
How much is Google paying for NFL Sunday Ticket?
Google and the NFL did not disclose the terms of their deal, but The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Google’s deal with the NFL will see the tech giant pay the league “roughly” $2 billion a year for seven years. It says that the cost, however, could still rise “if certain benchmarks are reached.”
It doesn’t matter if you’re an Apple purist or a lifelong Android user — to get the most out of your device you’ll need a good unlimited data plan. Unfortunately, when it comes to finding the overall best unlimited plan, things can be a bit challenging. Unlike with home internet service, where your options are often limited by your location, most people living in the US have their pick of all the major competitors and carriers. And with so many different options, it can be tricky to tell which ones are truly a good value — especially since carriers love to make bold claims about performance and coverage at different prices.
To help you narrow down the best unlimited data plans that are out there, I’m going to focus on the three major carriers — Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T — combing through the multiple postpaid unlimited plans available to find the ones that provide the most perks and value for single lines and for families of four, so that you can find the best plan type for you at an affordable price on your budget.
Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET
Know your area
Before we get to the plans, to get the best deal you need to make sure you have the coverage that you need. This makes it very hard for us to give a blanket recommendation of any one carrier. T-Mobile’s service in New York may be excellent, but if you’re in rural Iowa, Verizon is more reliable.
While your mileage may vary, the good news is that these networks are growing and improving all the time, particularly as the three major players race to blanket the US with 5G. It’s quite possible that a decade ago you left a network complaining about its sparse service, but now it’s beefed itself up because of that race to acquire customers.
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If you know any friends or family in your area that already use the carrier you’re considering, ask about their experience. You could also go to a carrier’s store and see if they offer any free ways to try out the service before switching over, such as T-Mobile’s Network Pass. Verizon now offers a similar 30-day “Test Drive” program while the Cricket prepaid service just rolled out its own trial program that lets you sample parent AT&T’s network.
Know your deals and discounts
One other thing to keep in mind: discounts. All of the carriers offer additional discounts that you could be eligible for, depending on your employer, military status, student status or age.
If you’re 55 or older, you may also be eligible for a discounted plan: T-Mobile offers discounted plans nationwide for as low as $55 a month for two lines, and Verizon and AT&T offer similar options — but only for Florida residents. Now onto the picks.
T-Mobile has added a new cheaper unlimited plan for those who don’t need three or more lines. Called Base Essentials, this plan has unlimited talk, text and data including 5G. While the data is unlimited, only the first 20GB each month are at high speed — if you go over that threshold, your speeds will slow to 1.5Mbps for the remainder of your billing period.
While perks like free Netflix or the bundling of taxes and fees into the sticker price are not included, you do get unlimited hotspot at “3G speeds,” a free year of Paramount Plus, and unlimited talk, text and 2G data in Mexico and Canada.
Priced at $5 less per month for a single line than AT&T’s Value Plus plan, this could be a solid option for those looking for a single line without frills. The carrier also allows for multiple lines of this plan, with two lines running $80 a month (if you need three or more you may want to look at one of T-Mobile’s other plans which could be cheaper thanks to various promotions the carrier regularly runs).
T-Mobile keeps this plan surprisingly hidden, but you can find it by heading to the “Plans” section of its website and clicking “See lowest-priced data cell phone plans.”
If you only need one line, AT&T’s new Value Plus plan could be the way to go. You get unlimited talk, text and data and 5G access. There are no perks like a free streaming service subscription or hotspot data and you will need to stick to one line.
But if all you need is a simple unlimited plan from your phone, this is $10 less than T-Mobile’s Essentials pricing, $15 cheaper than AT&T’s Unlimited Starter (with this plan including 3GB of hotspot data) not to mention $15 cheaper than Verizon’s Welcome Unlimited and $20 cheaper than Verizon’s 5G Start.
Those looking to save the most on unlimited service from the major carriers may be best with T-Mobile’s Essentials. Unlimited talk, text and data are included for all of the carrier’s base unlimited plans. In this price-focused comparison, T-Mobile’s option comes in at $60 for a single line, $5 a month cheaper than AT&T’s Unlimited Starter and $10 less than Verizon’s 5G Start.
In addition to being $5 less than AT&T’s option, T-Mobile’s Essentials includes unlimited mobile hotspot (albeit at slower “3G speeds”), giving you a little more flexibility. All three carriers offer 5G access with their base plans. We should note that Verizon’s 5G Start doesn’t support its fastest forms of 5G.
You can always reevaluate your options as the three major carriers roll out the latest updates to their respective 5G networks over the next couple of years.
The savings of T-Mobile’s plan also become more pronounced the more lines you add. Two lines of Essentials is $90 a month, while a similar offering from AT&T or Verizon runs $120 a month. Three lines will also run $90 at T-Mobile thanks to a promotion, compared to $135 monthly at AT&T or Verizon. The four-line option is $105 at T-Mobile, compared to $140 at the other carriers.
These prices do come with a couple of caveats: Unlike T-Mobile’s Magenta or Magenta Max plans, taxes and fees are not included in any of these prices, making the actual total a little higher. All the deals also require that you set up AutoPay and paperless billing.
Verizon’s answer to T-Mobile’s cheapest plans has arrived in the form of its Welcome Unlimited offering. There are no streaming perks like the Disney Bundle with this plan, no hotspot data, no discounts for device upgrades and you can’t hop on Verizon’s fastest 5G networks, which it calls Ultra Wideband. But you do get Verizon’s network for $120 a month for four lines, assuming you have automatic payments set up.
Compared with the competition, the Verizon plan is still $15 a month pricier than T-Mobile’s Essentials plan, but it’s $20 a month cheaper than AT&T’s most affordable Unlimited Starter plan and Verizon’s own 5G Start. Those looking to save even more can combine the Welcome plan with Verizon’s other discounts for teachers, nurses, military and first responders.
If you’re looking for freebies with your wireless service, Verizon has one of the most aggressive bundles out there with its Play More plan ($80 a month for one line, $45 a month if you have four lines).
Verizon’s Play More plan includes unlimited talk, text and data and 25GB of higher-speed 5G and 4G LTE hotspot data. Among the perks are a free subscription to the Disney bundle (Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu) and either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass.
All told, the perks quickly add up if you use any of these services. The Disney bundle normally runs $14 a month, and Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass each run $5.
That’s potentially $19 a month in services. Verizon offers these benefits as part of its Play More and Get More plans, but for most people, the Play More choice is the best fit. Get More runs an extra $10 a month ($90 a month for a single line, $220 a month for four lines) and adds an extra 25GB of high-speed hotspot data, 50% off a connected device (like a monthly plan for tablet or smartwatch) and 600GB of Verizon’s Cloud Storage. Get More also includes a subscription to Apple Music, normally $10 a month.
Something to note: These perks are often limited to one per account, so only one line on a family plan would qualify to open a Disney Plus account and get it covered by the carrier.
Verizon also lets you mix and match plans when you have multiple lines.
If you have four people on your family plan, only one needs to have Play More to get the perks for the whole family. The rest can be on the cheaper 5G Start, which would make four lines $140 a month — as opposed to $180 a month if all four lines have Play More.
You can also combine these plans with Verizon’s other discounts for teachers, nurses, military and first responders to save a bit more.
Lastly, Verizon has a “One Unlimited for iPhone” plan geared towards Apple fans that includes the Apple One bundle (Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and iCloud storage). The pricing on that plan ($90 per month for one line, $200 a month for four lines) is higher than Play More, however, and the One plan lacks the ability to put other lines onto cheaper plans. Combining those two factors makes this option a worse deal than the Play More plan.
T-Mobile is the runner-up for perks. Among the benefits are unlimited international data (albeit at slow “2G speeds”) when traveling in over 210 countries, an hour of in-flight Wi-Fi on a number of airlines, T-Mobile Tuesdays weekly giveaways and the bundling of Netflix’s Basic plan (which is $10 a month and limited to watching on one screen at a time). It also now offers six free months of Apple TV Plus, a free year of Paramount Plus’ $5-a-month Essentials plan and a free year of TelevisaUnivison’s ViX Plus.
Its pricier Magenta Max plan ($85 a month for one line, $170 a month for four lines) upgrades the Netflix subscription to the more popular $15.49-a-month Standard plan (which allows for 1080p HD streaming on up to two screens at once), gives you 40GB of hotspot data, adds 5GB of high-speed international data and gives you unlimited Wi-Fi on a host of flights including those from American, Alaska Airlines, Delta and United. You also get a full subscription to Apple TV Plus and a free year of Paramount Plus Essentials and ViX Plus.
Unlike its Essentials plans discussed earlier, T-Mobile also includes taxes and fees with the pricing of its Magenta and Magenta Max plans.
AT&T’s unlimited plans no longer have much in the way of perks. The carrier used to offer a free subscription to HBO Max with its top Unlimited Elite offering ($85 for one line, $50 a month if you have four lines), but it got rid of the option in early June.
It is also worth reiterating that carrier perks — like Verizon and the Disney bundle or T-Mobile’s offering of Netflix, Paramount Plus, ViX Plus and Apple TV Plus — are often limited to one subscription per account, not one for each line you have.
Unlimited data plans FAQs
Why get unlimited?
If you’re on T-Mobile, all of your plans are unlimited, and Verizon no longer lets new users sign up for a shared data plan. Only AT&T still offers some tiered data plans.
Although everyone’s wireless needs are different, for most we think unlimited plans make the most sense, especially when it comes to choosing a new plan.
AT&T’s option isn’t great. It has a 4GB per line plan that runs $50 a month for one line ($160 for four lines). Each line here gets 4GB of data, but if you go over that threshold in a month you’re paying $10 for every 2GB. AT&T’s plan also does not include access to its 5G networks.
The company’s basic unlimited plan, called Unlimited Starter, is $65 a month for one line or $140 for four lines.
If you have one or two lines and don’t use a lot of data, you may be fine with one of these plans, though if you have just one line we’d recommend switching over to AT&T’s $50 per month Value Plus option we mentioned above or T-Mobile’s Base Essentials. Two lines of that T-Mobile plan runs $80 a month, which is $10 cheaper than two lines of AT&T’s 4GB plan and comes without the worry of navigating how much data you use.
For most people, we really do believe unlimited is the best choice when choosing a new plan.
Is unlimited data really unlimited?
It is, but the speeds you get may vary depending on your plan and how much data you use in a given month. Whereas in the past carriers would slow down or “throttle” your speeds if you pass a certain limit (usually over 22GB of data within a month) for the remainder of your billing cycle, today all three major providers say they’ll only do that in special cases.
To have your data slowed on most of the plans mentioned above, you will need to have:
1. Used over 50GB of data in a month.
2. Be in an area that is experiencing “congestion,” “heavy traffic” or if the network is “busy.” Examples of this could be at a sporting event or concert where there are tens of thousands of people in the same area uploading and sharing photos and videos.
All carriers say that in these cases your data should only be slowed “temporarily.” If you have an older unlimited plan, however, your threshold for when your data slows and how long it lasts may be different.
Is hotspot included?
A hotspot, or the ability to share your phone’s connection with other devices, will vary based on the plan you have. Some, like AT&T’s Value Plus and Verizon’s 5G Start, don’t include it at all while others — such as AT&T’s Unlimited Starter and T-Mobile’s Essentials and Magenta — offer limited amounts of high-speed access before capping your hotspot performance to “3G” or “2G” speeds.
In short, if hotspot access is important for you, check out a pricier unlimited plan such as T-Mobile’s Magenta Max (40GB of high-speed data); Verizon’s Play, Do, One or Get More (25GB of high-speed data on Play, Do or One; 50GB on Get More); or AT&T’s Unlimited Extra (15GB of high-speed data) or Unlimited Premium (50GB of high-speed data) options.
We’ll keep updating this article as new unlimited plans and better deals emerge. In the meantime, if you know of a better wireless plan deal or have your own favorites, message me on Twitter @eliblumenthal.
There are a lot of ways to enjoy Xbox games at the moment, whether you’ve managed to score yourself an elusive next-gen Xbox Series X, snagged a compact Xbox Series S, are still gaming away on your trusty Xbox One or have a powerful PC gaming rig. But no matter how you like to play Xbox titles, one of the best and most cost-effective ways to make the most of your console is with one of Microsoft’s gaming subscriptions. However, there are three different subscriptions to choose from, which makes finding the right one for your needs a little more challenging.
To help you find the best Xbox gaming subscription for your needs, we’ve broken down the major differences between the three different gaming memberships Microsoft offers: Xbox Gold, Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate. We’ve also rounded up some of the best deals available so you can get signed up for less. We’ll continue to update this page as deals come and go, so be sure to check back often for the best prices available.
Gold vs. Game Pass vs. Ultimate
There are not one but three different services that you can subscribe to to beef up your gaming experience on the Xbox, so which should you get? It really depends on what type of gamer you are. You can check out our detailed breakdown of Game Pass versus Live Gold here, but these are the major differences so you can pick the plan that’s right for you.
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Gold
If you delight in the multiplayer mayhem of online gaming, a Gold membership is pretty much a necessity. To play nearly any Xbox game online, whether it’s running and gunning in the latest competitive shooter or mowing down hordes of zombies with your buddies on the other side of the country, you’ll need to have an Xbox Live Gold membership to do it — except that, as of last April, free-to-play games like Fortnite and Warzone will no longer require one. Gold costs $10 per month, or you can sign up for a three-month subscription for $25 and save a few bucks each month.
If you prefer a single-player experience, Game Pass is a great bargain. Signing up gives you access to more than 400 games from the Xbox catalog. There’s a huge array of games available, from major titles like Batman: Arkham Knight and Back 4 Blood, to small charming indies like Hades and Firewatch. Plus classics from the Xbox 360 era like Mass Effect and Fallout: New Vegas.
There are two versions of this subscription, one for console users, and one for PC users, but they both cost $10 per month. The only major difference is that the PC plan includes a subscription to EA Play, which adds a few more titles to your library, and provides some exclusive rewards and content for select EA games. There’s also an ongoing promotion for the PC subscription that allows new subscribers to get their first month for just $1.
Game Pass Ultimate is the best of both worlds. At $15 per month, an Ultimate subscription bundles both Gold and Game Pass for $5 less than it would cost to sign up separately. You’ll get access to the entire Game Pass library on your console, PC and mobile device, as well as a Gold membership so you can play games online too. You’ll also get perks like exclusive offers and in-game content, and it includes the EA Play subscription. For all-around gamers who don’t want to compromise, this is your best bet. And new users signing up now can get their first month for just $1.
Unlike the comparable subscriptions for PlayStation, there’s no annual membership plan for either Gold or Game Pass, which makes it a little bit harder to consistently find them at a good value. While deals directly from Xbox turn up occasionally, they’re usually just for new subscribers. However, other retailers and third parties do occasionally have deals on digital codes to help you save some cash each month. Here are the best ones we’ve found that are available right now.
If you’re on the hunt for the best possible value overall, this is the plan for you. Ultimate already saves you $5 a month by bundling a Gold and Game Pass membership, and this three-month subscription is on sale for $17 less than it would cost you to pay monthly. At $27 total, that brings the per-month cost down to just $9, instead of the usual $15. Bargains on Ultimate subscriptions are pretty slim, so unless you’re a new subscriber, this is the best value you’ll find out there at the moment.
If you do happen to be a new subscriber to Game Pass Ultimate, Microsoft is offering a pretty great deal right now. New subscribers can get their first month for just $1, saving you $14 off the usual monthly cost. After the first month, your membership will revert back to the usual $15 per month. Overall, this is by far the best deal you’ll find on any Xbox subscription, so long as you’re eligible for the discount.
If you’re looking for multiplayer mayhem, this is going to be your best bet for a good value. This bundle from Best Buy costs $60 for a whole year, which cuts the monthly cost in half to just $5.
If you’re not totally sure if you need or want a Gold subscription, this is a great chance to try it out for a while before you commit to an entire year. CDKeys currently has a three-month Gold membership available for just $16, which drops the monthly cost down to just over $5 instead of $10. Just note that this deal appears to be exclusive to console users.
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If you’re traveling over the holidays, there’s a lot to keep track of as you race through the airport: Your tickets, your boarding pass, your luggage, your loved ones — and, of course, your ID.
Almost all airlines let you use a digital version of your boarding pass to board, but now some states are allowing residents to keep their driver’s license or other recognized identification in their Apple Wallet, letting them just flash their iPhones — or Apple Watch — rather than root through their pocketbooks for their ID.
Apple announced the initiative in 2021, building the technology into iOS 15 for iPhone.
“The addition of driver’s licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet is an important step in our vision of replacing the physical wallet with a secure and easy-to-use mobile wallet,” Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said in a statement at the time.
It’s not quite a universal game-changer yet: While 12 states have committed to allowing digital IDs, only three have officially started accepting them.
And while the airport you depart from might accept a driver’s license on your Apple Watch, you might not be extended the same courtesy on the return trip.
But the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is already supporting the technology at select airport security checkpoints at participating airports.
“Digital identity has the ability to strengthen airport security and enhance the passenger experience by reducing touchpoints, providing greater privacy, and verifying IDs more accurately,” the agency said in a statement. So it’s really a question of when, not if the option will become standard nationwide.
Here’s what you need to know about putting your driver’s license in your Apple Wallet, including how to do it and which states recognize digital IDs.
How do I add my driver’s license to my Apple Wallet?
Adding a driver’s license or other state ID is similar to how you add new credit cards to your Apple Wallet.
First, tap the “+” button at the top of the screen in Wallet. (If you have an Apple Watch paired to your iPhone, it will ask you about adding your license there, as well.)
Dan Avery/CNET
You’ll then scan your physical driver’s license with your iPhone’s camera and take a selfie, “which will be securely provided to the issuing state for verification,” according to Apple.
You’ll also be asked to complete a series of facial and head movements “as an additional security step.”
Once your ID has been verified by the state that issued it, it will be added to your Wallet.
To add your license or ID to Apple Wallet, it will need to be issued from a participating state. In addition, you’ll need:
An Apple ID with two-factor authentication turned on
Your device region set to the US
Also, only passengers with TSA PreCheck on their boarding pass are eligible to flash digital licenses, according to the TSA website, though the agency said it plans to add the option for other passengers in the future.
Only one license or ID can be added to an iPhone and paired Apple Watch at a time.
For now, only residents of Arizona, Colorado and Maryland can upload their licenses.
Dan Avery/CNET
Which states accept a digital driver’s license on an iPhone?
Apple initially announced in 2021 that eight states were participating in the program, then bumped the number to 12 this year. But those are states committed to accepting Apple Wallet IDs, not that currently do.
Only Arizona, Colorado and Maryland currently support the digital identification feature — and only at select security checkpoints at these airports:
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah have all committed to supporting the initiative, as has Puerto Rico, though specific timetables have not been announced.
Other states are expected to join this roster soon: Last year Bailey said Apple was “already in discussions with many more states.”
In November, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles said it was “exploring” the digital ID option.
“There is a proviso that created a study committee on the idea and they are still undergoing research,” spokeswoman Maranda Williams told The State, a Columbia, South Carolina, news outlet.
Separate from Apple’s efforts, some states allow residents to upload their driver’s licenses to their phones through state-operated apps, like Louisiana’s LA Wallet. But these are for driving and age verification purposes and are not accepted by TSA yet.
Apple
How do I use a license stored in my Apple Wallet at TSA?
To present your digital ID, tap your iPhone or Apple Watch on the identity reader at the security checkpoint.
You’ll then be prompted to authenticate your identification with Face ID or Touch ID.
If it’s successful, a checkmark should appear on the screen.
According to Apple, “you don’t need to unlock, show or hand over your device [to a TSA agent].”
Is this technology secure?
According to Apple, it is. A statement on the Apple Support website says the program uses the same privacy and security features already in the iPhone and Apple Watch to prevent tampering and theft.
“Your driver’s license or state ID data is encrypted,” it said. “Neither the state issuing authority nor Apple can see when and where you use your license or ID, and biometric authentication using Face ID and Touch ID helps make sure that only you can view and use your license or ID.”
If my state accepts digital IDs, do I still need my physical license at the airport?
Yes. The program is still in its infancy, and there’s no guarantee the TSA agent you encounter will be able to accept a driver’s license on your Apple Wallet.
“All passengers must continue to have readily available their physical driver’s license,” TSA said on its website. “The TSA officer may require this physical ID in addition to the digital ID.”
Where else can I use my digital ID?
With the rollout of iOS 16 in June, apps that require age or identity verification should now be able to accept ID cards stored in your Apple Wallet app, Apple said.
Uber Eats and car-share service Turo were cited as two apps that could potentially offer this functionality, according to MacRumors, but neither has officially done so.
Apple also said retailers, restaurants and other venues will make use of the feature in the future.
I have an Android phone. Can I upload my ID to Google Wallet?
In a December 2022 system update, Google announced it was beta testing allowing Android phone users to upload their driver’s licenses to Google Wallet “for convenient, private and secure presentation.”
This year brought some big changes to Sony’s gaming subscriptions. In the past, PlayStation users had two different memberships to choose from — PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. But after an overhaul that took place in June, both of those subscriptions have been rolled into a single service with multiple membership tiers, though it still falls under the PlayStation Plus label. To help you get a handle on how things have changed, and find the right membership tier for you, we’ve broken down the different options below.
We haven’t seen many deals since the service was overhauled, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely nonexistent. Below, you’ll find just about the only PlayStation Plus deal available at the moment, but we’re hoping to see some more deals and offers on the updated PS Plus service start to crop up in the coming weeks and months, so be sure to check back here often for the best prices available. And for even more savings, be sure to check out our roundup of the best bargains on PlayStation gear and accessories.
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What’s changed?
Before the revamp, PlayStation offered users two different subscription services. PlayStation Plus was a $10-per-month service similar to Xbox Live Gold that allowed users to play games online and participate in multiplayer matches. PlayStation Now was a $10-per-month cloud gaming service that gave players access to a huge library of classic titles from the PS2, PS3 and PS4. The revamp, which went live in June, has essentially rolled both memberships into a single, multitiered subscription, though it will still technically fall under the PS Plus label. There are three different membership packages available, combining different features and benefits of both previous subscriptions.
PS Plus: Essential
At $10 per month or $60 for the year, PS Plus: Essential is essentially no different than the previous PS Plus subscription. It offers all the same features, including access to online play, two monthly games for free, cloud storage and exclusive discounts at the PlayStation Store. If you had a PS Plus membership before the revamp went live, it was automatically converted to an Essential membership.
PS Plus: Extra
At $15 per month or $100 for the year, a midtier Extra subscription is somewhat similar to the Game Pass Ultimate membership offered to Xbox users. It includes all the benefits and features of an Essential membership, but also gives you access to a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. The selection includes plenty of hit titles like God of War, Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima.
PS Plus: Premium
A Premium membership is the highest tier available, and clocks in at either $18 per month or $120 for a full year. In addition to all the benefits of both an Essential and Extra subscription, it gives you access to a massive library of more than 700 games. That includes the recent PS4 and PS5 hits from the Extra subscription, but also a catalog of more than 300 classics from the PS1, PS2 and PS3 eras (similar to the pervious PS Now subscription). It also allows you to stream many of these classic titles, so you don’t have to worry about them eating up your valuable storage space. You also get access to time-limited game trials, so you can try out new games before you commit to a purchase. If you had a subscription to PS Now before the revamp went live, it was automatically converted to a Premium membership.
PS Plus deals
Things were pretty chaotic leading up to the revamp, with people stacking discounted memberships and racking up hundreds in savings before Sony got wise to the loophole. It’s been closed for a while now, and we haven’t seen too many chances to save on a service since. Sony and retailers appear to have pulled any remaining membership codes to the now-discontinued PS Now service, but if you’re only interested in the Essential-tier membership, there are still a few holdover deals on the original PS Plus.
It’s pretty slim pickings for deals on the updated PS Plus at the moment, so if you’re looking to save some cash, this is your best bet. This offer is technically for an original PS Plus subscription from before the revamp, which will automatically convert to an Essential membership. We haven’t had a chance to test this deal ourselves, but several reviewers have stated that they’ve had no problem redeeming one of these older codes. An Essential membership is typically $60 for the year, which is already a 50% discount on the monthly plan pricing. But right now at CD Keys, you can get an annual subscription for $50, which drops the monthly cost to just over $4. You won’t get access to the massive library of games, but you will be able to play online and you will receive two free games every month.
If you don’t want to commit to a full year, CD Keys is offering a similar deal on a three-month PS Plus Essential membership. You can sign up right now for just $25, which drops the monthly cost to just over $8 and saves you $5 total compared to the usual price.
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Using a navigation app like Google Maps is a must when you’re traveling anywhere — especially during a snowy holiday season when road closures can add hours onto your trip. Google Maps may help you avoid long commute times, traffic hazards, wrecks, tolls and other potential obstacles preventing you from getting home for the holidays on time. If you’re looking for extra tricks and tips to make Google Maps even more useful, we’ve compiled a list.
If you dine out frequently, you may have used some of these Google Maps tips in the past when planning a dinner night out. See what else you’ve been missing out on.
Verizon is making some small adjustments to its cheapest unlimited plan in its latest bid to lure new users. The carrier has announced that it will be running a “limited time” offer that will drop the price for its Welcome Unlimited offering by $5 a month, pitting it more closely comparable to rival T-Mobile’s Essentials and Base Essentials offerings. The new deal starts on Friday.
In addition to the cheaper price, Verizon is also noting that those who take advantage of this deal will be getting a “three-year price guarantee.” T-Mobile has been touting its own “price lock” promise that it won’t raise its plan pricing on a variety of its most recent plans.
Verizon’s change is available to new users of Welcome Unlimited. Under the offer, the rates will be the following (assuming automatic payments and paper-free billing are set up):
1 line: $60 a month (down from $65)
2 lines: $50 per line, per month (down from $55 per line, per month)
3 lines: $35 per line, per month (down from $40 per line, per month)
4+ lines: $25 per line, per month (down from $30 per line, per month for four lines)
The deal is not available for existing Welcome Unlimited users. If you have Welcome Unlimited right now you’re stuck with the rate you have. If you have Welcome Unlimited and wanted to add a line, however, the new line — and only the new line — would be discounted at the above rate.
First introduced in July, the Welcome Unlimited plan is Verizon’s answer to T-Mobile’s cheaper Essentials and Base Essentials plans. It includes unlimited talk, text and data, but there are no perks like the free Disney Bundle (Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu), and it comes with a handful of other restrictions that are worth keeping in mind.
For one, all lines on the account will need to be on this plan — you cannot “mix and match” lines on a family plan that would’ve allowed you to get perks like the Disney Bundle from one line while also getting the cheaper rates on the others. There are no discounts on upgrading to new phones when on Welcome Unlimited; you will need to bring your own device or pay full price to upgrade.
And while you will have unlimited talk, text and data, those on Welcome Unlimited do not have access to Verizon’s fastest 5G flavor (what the carrier calls “5G Ultra Wideband”) and do not get mobile hotspot access.
The new offer comes as Verizon looks to turn around a recent string of poor results that have seen customers flee its network for different providers. The carrier had been busy raising prices earlier in the year, and customers have left as a result. In its most recent quarter, the carrier reported a loss of 189,000 wireless postpaid phone users.
The video game industry suffered serious whiplash from the impact of COVID-19. Hardware and software sales skyrocketed in 2020 as people were stuck inside their homes with little else to do. But those same lockdowns hobbled the development of upcoming games, resulting in a barren slate over the last two years. There was a serious dropoff once you got past Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok.
Now, with the industry well past the COVID lockdowns and with development back to full steam, 2023 could mark a huge comeback year for gamers. Piers Harding-Rolls, research director for UK-based market research firm Ampere Analysis, said he expects a rebound after spending in this area declined by 4% this year.
One reason spending should rise is that gamers are primed for new games. Getting a next-generation console like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X wasn’t easy over the last two years, but supply constraints have finally loosened up to the point that you could realistically get something in the last few months.
This year also saw the release of Valve’s Steam Deck, a portable gaming device that was similarly hard to buy early in 2022 but became more available by the end of the year. More gamers with the latest hardware means more gamers looking to buy the latest titles.
As important as it is for gamers to have hardware, it’s equally critical that they have new games to play. Due to delays stemming from COVID lockdowns, titles planned for release in 2022 were pushed to 2023. Combine these delayed games with others already planned for next year, and the result is what could be a stunning year for game releases.
“There is really a lot of content coming next year,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. “I would say it will be the biggest since 2019.”
Although this year saw the release of some amazing games, including Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarök, there were long empty stretches between these few quality titles in 2022. Between May and October there were only a handful of critically acclaimed games released, such as Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and niche indie games Stray and Neon White. Even some of the high-profile games, such as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, felt like they needed time to smooth out a lot of wrinkles.
That was the impact of the lockdown finally hitting gamers. With developers stuck at home and unable to effectively collaborate on big projects, publishers delayed one title after another. But because the industry already had a backlog of games ready during the height of the pandemic, gamers didn’t feel much of a drought in 2020 in 2021.
Even with few big-budget games coming out for most of 2022, gamers didn’t pay much attention as their own back catalog of games grew thanks to subscription services from Microsoft and Sony. Both companies stepped up their efforts in 2022, making for an abundance of gaming at such an affordable price.
This year saw Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media – which includes award-winning game developers such as Bethesda, id Software and Arcane Studios – continue to bear fruit for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. One of the best games of 2021, Deathloop, came to the subscription service after its exclusivity period on the PS5 ended. Then some classic Bethesda games went to PC Game Pass, including Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, Quake 4, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard and Wolfenstein 3D. Next year, Game Pass subscribers will be able to play some big titles on Day 1, such as Starfield, Redfall and Forza Motorsports.
Next year could be even bigger for Game Pass if Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard gets approval. The almost $69 billion deal would likely mean Activision Blizzard’s catalog of games, including Call of Duty, Diablo and Starcraft, will be on Game Pass. However, Microsoft is facing opposition from regulators in the US and EU over concerns that the Xbox-maker is becoming a monopoly. The Federal Trade Commission earlier this month sued to block the deal, even as Microsoft offered to make several concessions, including bringing the Call of Duty franchise to the Nintendo Switch and allowing Sony to add the military shooter series to its subscription service, PlayStation Plus.
Sony, meanwhile, improved its standing with gamers by revamping its PlayStation Plus service this year. The PlayStation-maker now offers a tiered subscription for gamers to play some of the latest games from the PS4 and PS5, or pay a little more to run classic titles from the PS1, PS2 and PS3 generations. While PlayStation Plus still doesn’t outshine Xbox Game Pass, it’s a far better alternative than what Sony offered previously.
Taking those three factors into consideration – hardware availability, big-budget game releases and competitive subscription services – 2023 is poised to be a massive year for video games.
Google’s sports streaming ambitions are getting a big boost. Starting with the 2023 NFL season, the company’s streaming TV subscriptions YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels will be the new home for NFL Sunday Ticket in the US. After reports of a pact circulated Tuesday night, the league and Google announced Thursday that the search giant’s massive video arm will be the exclusive provider to watch out-of-market NFL games, beginning next year.
YouTube didn’t detail pricing for Sunday Ticket yet.
Google takes over the Sunday Ticket package from DirecTV, which had an exclusive deal for the package since 1994. In recent years, the satellite provider paid the league over $1.5 billion annually for Sunday Ticket, often using the NFL games as a way to lure and retain subscribers. Now Google, with Sunday Ticket, is aiming to do the same for YouTube TV, its $65-per-month live-channel TV service, and YouTube Primetime Channels, subscriptions that you pay for and watch through your regular YouTube account.
Under the deal, the Sunday Ticket package will be available to stream as an add-on either through YouTube TV or YouTube Primetime Channels, which launched in November with subscriptions to providers like Starz, Showtime and Paramount Plus. Under Primetime Channels, you will be able to sign up for Sunday Ticket on its own, without needing to shell out for YouTube TV.
Sunday Ticket will remain a DirecTV exclusive for the remainder of the 2022 NFL regular season.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Google’s deal with the NFL will see the tech giant pay the league “roughly” $2 billion a year for seven years, though it added that this cost could rise “if certain benchmarks are reached.” These rights are just for residential streams, with the NFL looking to also license out Sunday Ticket to commercial locations like bars and restaurants, WSJ said.
Although Amazon streams Thursday Night Football, it has a deal with DirecTV that allows the satellite provider to offer these football telecasts in bars and restaurants. Amazon is said to be paying the NFL $1 billion per year to be the exclusive home for Thursday Night Football games this fall and for the next decade.
Unlike the Amazon deal, which streams its games on Amazon-owned Prime Video and Twitch platforms, Sunday Ticket does not stop you from watching your local CBS or Fox Sunday broadcasts on TV.
Like DirecTV, YouTube TV is a live television service and offers all the major local channels including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, as well as the NFL Network. While Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV won’t let you get the games that air on streaming services like Amazon or ESPN Plus, it could make Google’s television service the go-to destination for those looking to stream nearly all the NFL action in the years ahead.
It’s unclear what Google might charge for Sunday Ticket. For a full season, DirecTV has previously priced the service at roughly $300 for the base Sunday Ticket package, or $400 for a “Max” version that included extra channels such as a DirecTV-exclusive version of NFL RedZone.
YouTube TV currently makes the NFL Network’s very similar version of RedZone available as an add-on for an extra $11 per month.
The NFL partnership is Google’s latest expansion into professional sports. Google has previously had exclusive streams of regular-season Wednesday MLB games available for free on YouTube. YouTube TV, meanwhile, has been featured as a title sponsor for major sporting events like the World Series and NBA Finals. It also has said it plans to make the NBA’s out-of-market League Pass service available on YouTube Primetime Channels.
