Even though Presidents Day is tomorrow and there are a ton of greatdeals to take advantage of across the board, there are also some solid bargains to be had as well. From Rotary cutters to white noise machines, you don’t have to spend hundreds to get yourself some good products. Also, be sure to check out CNET’s gift guides as you do your weekend bargain-hunting.
The second installment of the sci-fi epic Dune from director Denis Villeneuve is set to hit theaters on March 1. Adapted from Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, the film series is a sweeping production that takes place in a complex world rife with political conflict, conspiracies, mysticism and families trying to survive on a harsh planet.
2021’s Dune introduced Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, a young man with extraordinary abilities. He resides with his parents, Leto and Lady Jessica, on planet Arrakis, a rough desert environment where sandworms and leery locals called the Fremen dwell. Conflict erupts over a precious substance called “spice” that puts House Atreides at odds with its enemies, House Harkonnen, and it can potentially shape the future of the story’s entire Known Universe.
A compelling tale told with stunning visuals and an all-star cast, the film earned six Oscars. Before heading to the theater to see part 2, you can relive the feel and magic in Villeneuve’s first Dune film. See below where you can stream it and learn how a VPN can come in handy while viewing.
Read more: Dune Movie’s Out Now: A Guide to All the Terminology You Need to Know
You have two main options to stream Dune on-demand. As a Warner Bros. production, the movie is available on Max, where you can also stream the 1984 adaptation of the film by director David Lynch.
Additionally, Netflix has Dune, part 1 available to stream until Feb. 29, one day before the next film in the series lands in theaters.
Read more: Best Streaming Services of 2024
Maybe you’re traveling abroad and want to stream Dune while away from home. With a VPN, you can virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to access the film from anywhere. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming, too.
A VPN is the best way to encrypt your traffic and stop your ISP from throttling your speeds. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you’re traveling, find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that’s passed our tests and security standards.
You can use a VPN to legally stream content as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you’re using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list, such as Surfshark or NordVPN.
Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation and choose a country where Dune will be streaming on a service like Max. Before opening the streaming app, be sure you’re connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream the movie on multiple devices, you may need to configure each to ensure you’re signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you’re logged in and connected to your VPN account.
If you run into streaming issues, first ensure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you’ve followed installation instructions correctly and you’ve picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device, and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services have restrictions on VPN access.
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Acer’s entry-level Nitro and midrange Predator Helios lines have long been laptop favorites among gamers on tight budgets, delivering good 3D bang for the buck with solid if unspectacular designs. Wedged between these two series is the Predator Helios Neo line, which sacrifices nice-to-have features like an all-metal design, a mini-LED display, mechanical WASD keys and per-key RGB lighting while supplying must-have items like a full-wattage GPU and bright and fast display.
Without many of the features available in the Predator Helios line, the Predator Helios Neo 16 has more in common with the entry-level Nitro 16. The two laptops, in fact, share nearly identical enclosures — the Predator Helios Neo 16 is really just a Nitro 16 with an aluminum top cover. Both are excellent RTX 4050-based budget gaming laptops, each priced at $1,200, but the Predator Helios Neo 16 is the better buy with our test systems. In addition to the sturdier lid, it offers faster 3D frame rates. And the Predator Helios Neo 16 becomes a steal when it’s on sale; it was recently at Best Buy with a hefty $350 discount, dropping the price to a very reasonable $850.
| Price as reviewed | $1,200 |
|---|---|
| Display size/resolution | 16-inch 1,920×1,200 165Hz LCD |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-13500HX |
| Memory | 16GB 4800MHz DDR5 |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 @ 140 watts |
| Storage | 512GB SSD |
| Ports | USB-C Thunderbolt 4 (x2), USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 (x2), USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI, Ethernet, combo audio jack, microSD card reader |
| Networking | Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX 1650i and Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Operating system | Windows 11 Home |
We reviewed the entry-level unit (model PHN16-71) in the Predator Helios Neo 16 line. It features an Intel Core i5-13500HX CPU, 16GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics and a 512GB SSD. I’d have a hard time recommending it at its full price, but it’s regularly discounted at Best Buy. Higher-end models offer up to a 14th-gen Core i9 CPU and RTX 4060 graphics. Most configurations, including our test model, feature a 16-inch, 16:10 IPS display with a 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate, and there’s at least one model with a 2,560×1,600-pixel, 165Hz display.
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 starts at $1,200 ( 1,700 in the UK and AU$2,089 in Australia).
A 16-inch, 165Hz display powered by RTX 4050 graphics isn’t uncommon in a budget gaming laptop, but the Predator Helios Neo 16 is better than most with this setup. The display is much brighter than that of the typical budget gaming laptop, and it has a dynamic refresh rate that can hum along at 165Hz when you’re gaming or watching video and then dial it back to 83Hz when you aren’t gaming, to extend battery life. More importantly, the RTX 4050 GPU is running at full wattage. It’s set at 140 watts — 115W from the GPU itself and another 25 watts borrowed from the CPU via Nvidia’s Dynamic Boost. That’s the maximum TGP you’ll get from an RTX 4050.
The Nitro 16 I tested alongside the Helios also has an RTX 4050 at 140 watts, but other budget gaming laptops feature lower-wattage RTX 4050 GPUs, such as the HP Victus 16 (120 watts), the Lenovo 82XT LOQ 15APH8 (95 watts) and the MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE (45 watts). And if you scroll to the bottom of this review, you’ll see that this difference in wattage shows up in the performance results.
The Predator Helios Neo 16 enjoyed a clear advantage on all three of our 3D gaming tests, achieving significantly higher frame rates than its RTX 4050 competition. It was also a clean sweep for the Predator Helios Neo 16 on both our 3DMark tests. And it proved its 2D graphics mettle with a first-place finish on Cinebench.
Its application performance was up and down, with a strong result on Geekbench 6 but only a middling score relative to that of the other budget gaming laptops. If a gaming laptop must sacrifice some performance in an effort to keep the price in check, gamers will happily take the hit in application performance rather than 3D ability. Acer made a smart trade-off with this model by pairing a midrange 13th-gen Core i5 CPU from Intel’s high-powered HX mobile series with a maxed-out RTX 4050 GPU.
One area where many budget gaming laptops cut costs is the display. You might get a speedy 144Hz or 165Hz refresh rate but on a dim, 250-nit or 300-nit panel. On my Spyder X Elite colorimeter tests, the Predator Helios Neo 16’s display achieved a peak brightness of 442 nits. That’s an impressive figure for a budget gaming model. To put it in context, the MSI Cyborg 15 hit only 266 nits, the HP Victus 16 got as bright as 287 nits, and the Lenovo LOQ 82XT peaked at 343 nits. Acer’s own Nitro 16 was the closest to the Predator Helios Neo 16’s bright display at 424 nits. The Predator Helios Neo 16 also covered 100% of the sRGB gamut, which the Nitro 16 and HP Victus 16 could match, but not the MSI Cyborg 15 or Lenovo LOQ 82XT.
The downside of having a bright display powered by a 55-watt HX-series CPU and full-wattage RTX 4050 is shorter battery life. The Predator Helios Neo 16 lasted just 6.5 hours on our online streaming battery-drain test. For a big and heavy gaming laptop that I’m unlikely to lug around with me all day, that’s a trade-off I’m willing to make for a brighter, more vibrant display and higher frame rates. Colors looked more vivid on the Predator Helios Neo 16 than they did on the other budget gaming laptops, and I could see more details in the darkest and lightest areas of a scene.
The Predator Helios Neo 16 features a plastic keyboard deck and an aluminum top cover. That’s better than most budget gaming laptops, which are usually all-plastic affairs. You won’t find all-metal designs unless you move up to midrange models that start at roughly $1,500. Acer’s Predator Helios (non-Neo) line boasts an all-aluminum enclosure, but the Predator Helios Neo is mostly plastic. In fact, it features the same keyboard deck and keyboard as the Nitro 16 with only a slight modification to the venting pattern above the keys. Plus, the WASD keys, four arrow keys and a hotkey to open Acer’s PredatorSense app are jazzed up with blue translucent edges instead of a bold white.
The overall look isn’t terribly gamer-centric. When the RGB lighting is turned off and you don’t notice the different font for the WASD keys, the Predator Helios Neo 16 could be mistaken for an oversize work computer. The aluminum lid, too, is about as plain as can be; it’s a drab gray color with a buttoned-up matte finish and only a small Predator logo at the top.
It may be made of plastic, but the keyboard deck isn’t flimsy. It offers a solid base for mashing keys. The drawback to the design is its bulk and heft. The screen bezels on the sides and top are fairly thin, but the bottom bezel is wider than is fashionable today. With a 16-inch, 16:10 display that’s already taller than a traditional 15.6-inch, 16:9 panel, the Predator Helios Neo 16 takes up a lot of space.
The laptop measures more than 11 inches from front to back, is more than an inch thick and weighs a considerable 5.7 pounds. The nearly identical Nitro 16 also weighs 5.7 pounds, but the Nitro 16’s power brick weighs nearly two pounds on its own, while the slightly smaller power brick for the Predator Helios Neo 16 weighs 1.6 pounds. Still, you’re forced to haul more than 7 pounds in total with the Predator Helios Neo 16.
The keyboard offers four-level, four-zone RGB lighting. The multiple zones allow for more customization than you get from one-zone RGB lighting that’s typical at this price. The laptop is also one step away from per-key RGB lighting with the non-Neo version of the Predator Helios. The keys themselves have snappy feedback and feel fast when gaming but lack the satisfying deep travel of higher-end models. Again, the non-Neo Helios line provides a better keyboard for gamers by offering swappable mechanical switches for the WASD keys that provide better tactile feedback.
Overall, the keyboard is acceptable for the price, but it’s a bit disappointing that it’s the same keyboard you get with the truly budget Nitro 16. For example, the NitroSense button that’s nestled into the number pad on Nitro models has simply been rebranded as the PredatorSense button. Other than the name, there’s no difference between Acer’s NitroSense and PredatorSense apps that let you monitor and adjust the power mode, fan speed and RGB lighting.
The display is also nearly identical to what you get with the Nitro 16. Each is a 16-inch panel with a 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio. As discussed in the previous section, both panels are considerably brighter and more vibrant than those on an average budget gaming laptop. The 16:10 aspect ratio also results in an expansive screen that feels much larger than a traditional 15.6-inch, 16:9 display. Even if games are usually displayed with a 16:9 ratio, the added space makes juggling multiple windows easier when you aren’t gaming.
The Predator Helios Neo 16 has the same downward-firing stereo speakers that emit flat sound with little bass. The lack of bass response is evident when listening to music, and explosions lack their full effect in games.
One area where the Predator Helios Neo 16 has the advantage over the Nitro 16 is with the webcam. Its 1080p camera provides a sharper, less grainy image than the Nitro 16’s 720p camera. With neither an IR sensor on the camera nor a fingerprint reader on the keyboard, the Predator Helios Neo 16 is devoid of biometrics for easy, secure logins.
The Predator Helios Neo 16 isn’t lacking in external connections, though, with ports on each side and also on the back edge. For starters, the power connector is located on the back, which is an arrangement I like because it means you can remain comfortably plugged in whether you’re sitting to the left or right of the nearest outlet, and it keeps the cable out of the way on a desk. Also on the back are two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and an HDMI port, so display and external storage cables won’t add to desk clutter, either. Elsewhere, you get a USB-A port, an Ethernet jack, a combo audio port and a microSD card slot on the left and two more USB-A ports on the right edge.
All things being equal — and the list price for each is $1,200 for the RTX 4050 configs we tested — the Predator Helios Neo 16 has the edge over the Nitro 16 for its faster frame rates, aluminum top cover and higher-resolution webcam. The Predator Helios Neo 16 also had a bigger price break, dropping as low as $850 at Best Buy. It’s worth tracking for the return of that $350 discount, but if you can’t find the Predator Helios Neo 16 on sale, then the Nitro 16 is a good consolation prize at its sale price of $900 at Newegg. Newegg’s $300 discount for the Nitro 16 is offered more regularly than Best Buy’s $350 discount for the Predator Helios Neo 16. However, either model is a great buy when you can find it for less than $1,000.
| Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 | Windows 11 Home; Intel Core i5-13500HX; 16GB DDR5 4,800MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 140W; 512GB SSD |
|---|---|
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R148 | Windows 11 Home; AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS; 16GB DDR5 5,600MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 140W; 512GB SSD |
| HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16 | Windows 11 Home; Intel Core i7-13700H; 16GB DDR5 5,200MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 120W; 1TB SSD |
| Lenovo 82XT LOQ 15APH8 | Windows 11 Home; AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS; 8GB DDR5 5,600MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 95W; 512GB SSD |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE | Windows 11 Home; Intel Core i7-13620H; 16GB DDR5 5,200MHz RAM; Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics @ 45W; 512GB SSD |
With a focus on beefing up privacy and security, Google’s first developer preview of Android 15 is now available to download. The latest major OS update, a follow up to Android 14, also allows creators to take better advantage of camera hardware and gives developers more ways to manage heat and processing power for more efficient app performance.
This early version of Android 15 is intended mostly for developers, to help them build apps tuned for the next release of the Android OS and for Google to get valuable feedback as it rolls out updates throughout 2024.
Read more: Best Android Phone of 2024
But just because the preview is meant for developers doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t download Android 15 right now. As long as you understand the limitations of a developer preview (which can include bugs, missing features and app incompatibility) and how to install it with manual flash (adding the OS to your phone’s flash memory storage), you can check out Android 15 right now.
If you don’t want to deal with software issues or installation, wait until April and May for Google to open enrollment for its Android beta program, or you could even wait until June and July for a more stable version to drop. The final version of Android 15, intended for all Android users, is expected to release sometime in the fall.
Unsure about what to do next? Well here’s everything you need to know about Android 15. For more, here’s how Google built its Immersive View for Maps and how to clear your browser’s cache in Android.
With this first developer preview, Google said the focus is on enhancing user privacy and file security. It’s also focused on giving creators greater access to tools and hardware — including in-app camera controls — and on heat and power management for improved app and game performance. The latest release uses the confectionery-theming code name Vanilla Ice Cream.
For privacy and security, Android 15 is using the latest version of Privacy Sandbox, which is a multiyear initiative to enhance user privacy on Android. Privacy Sandbox improves privacy around mobile advertising, by limiting what data third-parties can access. Android 15 also allows users to screen share part of their screen, rather than the entire screen.
Google will give developers and creators more precise control of camera hardware to help them take advantage of premium hardware features, including the Pixel camera, GPUs and AI processing. These expanded controls can boost the brightness of the camera preview, adjust flash strength, connect MIDI 2.0 devices via USB and more.
This first developer preview of Android 15 also includes heat and processing power management tools via an improved Android Dynamic Performance Framework to help developers optimize performance-heavy and graphic-intensive apps and games.
As more developer previews and beta releases drop, Google will continue to add and refine features based on the feedback from everyone using Android 15.
Google typically releases early developer previews just on its own devices, and it’s the same with Android 15. Right now, you can download Android 15 on the following Google Pixel phones and tablet:
If your device isn’t on the list, don’t fret just yet. As the year progresses, Android 15 will be available on other phones and tablets. You also have the option to use the 64-bit system images with the Android Emulator in Android Studio.
Note that running prerelease software on your phone can make it unstable, and you may lose data. We recommend downloading and installing prerelease software on something other than your primary Pixel device, just in case Google’s new software causes issues.
The first thing you should do before you download the first Android 15 developer preview is to back up your supported device. Why? Developer previews are software in its early days, and so you can expect bugs, app crashes and other issues that can make it difficult to use your phone or tablet on a daily basis.
By default, your Pixel should back up automatically whenever you’re connected to Wi-Fi and your phone has been idle and charging for 2 hours, but you can also do it manually. Depending on the size of your phone backup and how much available space you have on Google Drive, you may need a Google One subscription for this to work.
To back up your Pixel phone, go to Settings > Google > Backup and tap Back up now. Depending on the last backup and how many apps and files need to be backed up, this process can be instant or take up to several minutes. Once you’re backed up, you’re ready to begin the process of downloading and installing Android 15.
To install Android 15 on your Pixel, connect the phone to your computer via USB. That requires that your Pixel be unlocked and have USB debugging enabled. Although unlocking your phone is easy enough, to enable USB debugging you’ll need to first unlock Developer options.
Note: If you’ve flashed a developer preview before, you may be able to simply update OTA to Android 15. If not, skip to the next section.
1. Unlock Developer options. In the Settings application, go to About phone and then tap Build number seven times. Enter your password when prompted, and a new Developer options menu will appear in your settings.
2. Next, you’ll need to enable USB debugging so your phone and your computer can transfer data between each other. Go to Settings > System > Developer options and toggle on USB debugging. In the notification that appears, which briefly describes what USB debugging is meant for, tap OK.
3. And finally, while you’re still in Developer options, toggle on OEM unlocking. This unlocks your device’s bootloader, which is what loads the operating system. Once unlocked, you’ll be able to choose a different operating system to boot up on your Pixel — in this case Android 15.
You have two ways to flash the Android 15 developer preview on your Pixel, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll use the Android Flash Tool, which you can use directly from your web browser. It works best on Chrome or Edge. Also, your computer must have 10GB of available storage for this to work.
If everything is good to go, connect your Pixel to your computer via USB, unlock your device, go to https://flash.android.com/ in Chrome and do the following:
1. First, hit Allow ADB access in the pop-up that appears (if there are any ad blockers, turn them off).
2. Now click Add new device, choose your device from the list and hit Connect.
3. On your Pixel, check the box next to Always allow from this computer and then tap Allow to give Android Flash Tool access to your phone.
4. Back on your computer, click Developer Preview under Popular builds.
5. Click Install build and then hit Confirm.
The Android 15 Developer Preview should now be installed on your phone. You can safely disconnect your Pixel from the computer.
Once your Pixel boots back up, you’ll see a notification that says you’re now running the Android 15 developer preview. Hit OK and then set up your phone just as you would a brand-new phone. That means connecting to Wi-Fi, copying over apps and data from your latest backup via Google, agreeing to terms and conditions, setting up a password and so on.
You’ll automatically get future updates over-the-air for all developer previews and betas, so you don’t manually have to flash Android 15 every time.
Google said it expects to release several developer previews — this one in February and another date in March — to shake out new features and check compatibility.
Planned beta releases for early adopters in April and May should be more stable and will focus on quality and compatibility improvements. Finally, Platform Stability releases slated for June, July and August will center on Android 15 final testing before the first public release in the fall.
Have an older Android? Check out five tips to make your Android phone feel like new again.
On Jan. 29, Amazon rolled out advertisements in Prime Video content for customers in the US, and if you’re here reading this, you might be missing the commercial-free days of yore.
Whether you’re accessing Prime Video through an Amazon Prime membership ($15 a month or $139 a year) or a $9-a-month standalone Prime Video membership, you can remove ads on movies and TV shows for an extra $3 a month. Commercials will still appear during live sports and events, and you may still see skippable promotional trailers on on-demand titles if you upgrade.
For current Prime Video customers, the process of going ad-free is pretty straightforward. On the web, for example, I found three different routes that led to the option to upgrade. But if you’re new to the streaming service, you’ll need to sign up for either a monthly Prime Video subscription or a Prime subscription — all come with the default, ad-supported version of Prime Video — before you can upgrade to the ad-free version of the streaming service, according to Amazon.
If you opt for the basic, ad-supported version of Prime Video, you won’t be able to watch with Dolby Atmos or Dolby Vision. Instead, you’ll have 5.1-channel Dolby Digital Plus and HDR 10 (as tested by CNET). Dolby Vision’s functionally is very similar to HDR 10, so you may not mind that difference.
If you thought Prime Video already had ads, you might be getting it confused with Amazon’s streaming service Freevee, which has commercials but is free to use. CNET’s Kourtnee Jackson recently tested Prime Video with ads and noted that commercial breaks didn’t last as long as interruptions on competitors like Netflix and Hulu. But if you’re dedicated to your ad-free streaming routine, you don’t have to stick with the ad-based version of the service.
Below, you’ll find ways to upgrade to Prime Video if you’re an existing or new customer. If you currently have Prime Video through a free trial and want to upgrade to ad-free, you’ll also need to pay $3 a month, according to Amazon. Note this applies to US-based customers.
After testing different ways to upgrade, I had the easiest time using the web. The phrase “Go ad free” was in a row of selections on the homepage. Clicking that took me to Account & Settings and another Go ad free message. Pressing that gave me the option to start my ad-less subscription. I could also reach Account & Settings by hovering over my profile name.
While I was using the site, a pop-up window (pictured below) appeared and prompted me to upgrade.
According to Amazon, you can also upgrade using “the Prime Video app for Fire TV, smart TVs, game consoles and set top boxes.”
Using a Fire TV streaming device, I opened the side menu and saw a crossed-out blue “Ad” icon and the phrase “Go ad free.” Selecting that took me to Prime in Settings, where there was another Go ad free. Once I clicked that, I could start an ad-free subscription. I could also get to “Settings” and “Prime” by clicking the gear icon on the side menu.
Upgrading worked the same on a Roku streaming device, but when I used a Google TV, I was instead shown an on-screen QR code and a link I could type in to manage my ad-free subscription on the web.
You may also be able to upgrade through the Prime Video mobile app. The mobile apps we tested also featured the blue “Ad” icon with a line through it. With an iPhone, I reached a page where I could click Start Subscription, but a colleague with a Samsung phone tapped the icon and was only able to opt in to receive an email with more information about upgrading.
The ad-based version of the streaming service is the default option. If you are already a Prime Video subscriber, you should be able to upgrade using the methods in the last section. But if you aren’t, you’ll need to make sure you are one before you can opt to get rid of ads.
The cheapest way to subscribe to Prime Video is the $9 a month standalone subscription, but you can also pay for the $15 a month or $139 a year Prime subscription, which comes with additional perks like free Amazon delivery. Once you’ve met that requirement, you can follow the instructions above to remove ads from your streaming experience.
Samsung’s $1,300 ( 1,249, AU$2,199) Galaxy S24 Ultra is the highest-end and priciest phone now available in the company’s lineup. Its highlights include new AI features and tweaks to its cameras.
It’s also by far the most expensive non-folding flagship phone currently available, coming in at $100 more expensive than last year’s base $1,200 Galaxy S23 Ultra and the also-$1,200 iPhone 15 Pro Max from Apple.
You get a lot for your money, though, including the beefiest phone specs and a camera that’s likely to specialize in detailed zoom photos. The S24 Ultra has the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and a large 6.8-inch AMOLED display. Its 200-megapixel main camera is now accompanied by a 50-megapixel telephoto camera.
My colleague Lisa Eadicicco has reviewed the Galaxy S24 Ultra, finding that, while it does prove to be a specs beast, it’s a very pricey way to try out Samsung’s new Galaxy AI features.
In the below chart, we’ve outlined what’s inside the S24 Ultra and pit it against Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google’s Pixel 8 Pro and the OnePlus 12.
| Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | iPhone 15 Pro Max | Google Pixel 8 Pro | OnePlus 12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display size, resolution | 6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate | 6.7-inch OLED; 2,796×1,290 pixels; 120Hz adaptive | 6.7-inch OLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate | 6.82-inch OLED; 3,168×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate |
| Pixel density | 501 ppi | 460 ppi | 489 ppi | 510 ppi |
| Dimensions (inches) | 6.40 x 3.11 x 0.34 in. | 3.02 x 6.29 x 0.32 in. | 6.4 x 3.0 x 0.3 in. | 6.5 x 3 x 0.36 in. |
| Dimensions (millimeters) | 163 x 79 x 8.6 mm | 76.7 x 159.9 x 8.25 mm | 162.6 x 76.5 x 8.8 mm | 164.3 x 76 x 9.2 mm |
| Weight (grams, ounces) | 233 g (8.22 oz.) | 221 g (7.81 oz.) | 213 g (7.5 oz.) | 220 g (7.8 oz.) |
| Mobile software | Android 14 | iOS 17 | Android 14 | Android 14 |
| Camera | 200-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 50-megapixel (5x telephoto) | 48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel telephoto (5x optical) | 50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (telephoto) | 50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 64-megapixel (telephoto) |
| Front-facing camera | 12-megapixel | 12-megapixel | 10.5-megapixel | 32-megapixel |
| Video capture | 8K | 4K | 4K | 8K |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | A17 Pro | Google Tensor G3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| RAM/Storage | 12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 12GB RAM + 256GB; 16GB RAM + 512GB |
| Expandable storage | None | None | None | None |
| Battery/Charger | 5,000 mAh | Undisclosed; Apple claims up to 29 hours of video playback (25 hours streamed) | 5,050 mAh | 5,400 mAh (dual-2,700 mAh) |
| Fingerprint sensor | Under display | None (Face ID) | Under display | Under display |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C (USB 3.0) | USB-C | USB-C |
| Headphone jack | None | None | None | None |
| Special features | Titanium frame, 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; integrated S Pen; UWB for finding other devices; 45W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7; Gorilla Glass Armor cover glass | 5G (mmw/Sub6), Action Button, Always-On display, IP68 rating, MagSafe, Dynamic Island, 5x optical zoom (120mm equivalent),satellite connectivity, eSIM, Thread networking technology | 5G (Sub 6 and mmWave); VPN by Google One; 7 years of OS, security and Feature Drop updates; front-facing camera has autofocus; 13W Qi wireless charging; 30W wired charging; USB-3.2 speeds via USB-C; IP68 dust and water resistance; Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on front and back | 4,500-nit peak brightness; 80W wired charging (100W wired charging outside US); 50W wireless charging with fan dock; Wi-Fi 7; Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover glass |
| Price off-contract (USD) | $1,300 (256GB) | $1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB), $1,599 (1TB) | $999 (128GB) | $800 (256GB) |
| Price (GBP) | 1,249 (256GB) | 1,199 (256GB), 1,399 (512GB), 1,599 (1TB) | 999 (128GB) | TBD |
| Price (AUD) | AU$2,199 (256GB) | AU$2,199 (256GB), AU$2,549 (512GB), AU$2,899 (1TB) | AU$1,699 (128GB) | TBD |
Imagine an AI that doesn’t just answer questions like ChatGPT, but can make your morning coffee, do the dishes and care for your elderly parent while you’re at work.
It’s the future first envisioned by The Jetsons in 1962, and thanks to developments in AI, it finally seems feasible within the next decade.
But the implications extend far beyond an in-home Jarvis. That’s why tech titans like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg want to take AI to this next level. Last month, he told The Verge his new goal is to build artificial general intelligence, or AGI. That puts him in the same league as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind.
While Zuckerberg wants AGI to build into products to further connect with users, OpenAI and DeepMind have talked about the potential of AGI to benefit humanity. Regardless of their motivations, it’s a big leap from the current state of AI, which is dominated by generative AI and chatbots. The latter have so far dazzled us with their writing skills, creative chops and seemingly endless answers (even if their responses aren’t always accurate).
There is no standard definition for AGI, which leaves a lot open to interpretation and opinion. But it is safe to say AGI is closer to human-like intelligence and encompasses a greater range of skills than most existing AIs. And it will have a profound impact on us.
But it has a long way to go before it fully emulates the human brain -– not to mention the ability to make its own decisions. And so the current state of AGI could best be described as the Schrodinger’s cat of AI: It simultaneously is and is not human-like.
If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about with AGI, this explainer is for you. Here’s what you need to know.
Let’s start with a term we’ve heard a lot in the last year: artificial intelligence. It’s a branch of computer science that simulates aspects of human intelligence in machines.
Per Mark Riedl, professor in the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing and associate director of the Georgia Tech Machine Learning Center, AI is “the pursuit of algorithms and systems that emulate behaviors we think of as requiring intelligence.”
That includes specific tasks like driving a car, planning a birthday party or writing code —jobs that are already performed to a degree today by self-driving cars and more modest driving-assist features, or by assistants like ChatGPT if you give them the right prompt.
“These are things that we think that humans excel at and require cognition,” Riedl added. “So any system that emulates those sorts of behaviors or automates those sorts of tasks can be considered artificial intelligence.”
When an AI can perform a single task very well — like, say, playing chess — it’s considered narrow intelligence. IBM’s Watson, the question-answering AI that triumphed on Jeopardy in 2011, is perhaps the best-known example. Deep Blue, another IBM AI, was the chess-playing virtuoso that beat grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997.
But the thing about narrow intelligence is it can only do that one thing.
“It’s not going to be able to play golf and it’s not going to be able to drive a car,” said Chirag Shah, a professor at the University of Washington. But Watson and Deep Blue can probably beat you at Jeopardy and chess, respectively.
Artificial general intelligence, on the other hand, is broader and harder to define.
AGI means a machine can do many things humans do — or possibly all the things we do. It depends who you ask.
Human beings are the ultimate general intelligence because we are capable of doing so much: talking, driving, problem solving, writing and more.
Theoretically, an AGI would be able to perform these tasks indistinguishable from what Georgios-Alex Dimakis, a professor of engineering at the University of Texas, called “an extremely intelligent human.”
But beyond the ability to match human proficiency, there is no consensus about what achievements merit the label. For some, the ability to perform a task as well as a person is in and of itself a sign of AGI. For others, AGI will only exist when it can do everything humans can do with their minds. And then there are those who believe it’s somewhere in between.
Zuckerberg illustrated this fluidity in his interview with The Verge. “You can quibble about if general intelligence is akin to human-level intelligence, or is it like human-plus, or is it some far-future superintelligence,” he said. “But to me, the important part is actually the breadth of it, which is that intelligence has all these different capabilities where you have to be able to reason and have intuition.”
But the key is AGI is broad where AI is narrow.
The timeline for AGI is also up for debate.
Some say it’s already here, or close. Others say it may never happen. Still more peg the estimate at five to 10 years — DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is in this camp — while yet others say it will be decades.
“My personal view is, no, it doesn’t exist,” Shah said.
He pointed to a March 2023 research paper from Microsoft, which referred to “sparks of AGI.” The researchers said some of the conversations with recent large language models like GPT-4 are “starting to show that it actually understands things in a deeper way than simply answering questions,” Shah said.
That means “you can actually have a free-form conversation with it like you would have with a human being,” he added. What’s more, the latest versions of chatbots like Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT are capable of responding to more complex queries.
This ability does indeed point to AGI, if you accept the looser definition.
LLMs are a type of AI, fed content like books and news stories to first understand and then generate their own output text. LLMs are behind all the generative AI chatbots we know (and love?), like ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Bing and Claude.ai.
What’s interesting about LLMs is they aren’t limited to one specific task. They can write poetry and plan vacations and even pass the bar exam, which means they can perform multiple tasks, another sign of AGI.
Then again, they are still prone to hallucinations, which occur when an LLM generates outputs that are incorrect or illogical. They are also subject to reasoning errors and gullibility — and even provide different answers to the same question.
Hence the similarity to Schrodinger’s cat, which in the thought experiment was simultaneously dead and alive until someone opened the box it was in to check.
This is perhaps the $100,000 question — and another one that is hard to answer definitively.
If an AGI learns how to perform multiple household duties, we may finally have a Jetsons moment. There’s also the potential for at-home assistants who understand you like a friend or family member and who can take care of you, which Shah said has huge potential for elder care.
And AGI will continue to influence the job market as it becomes capable of more and more tasks. That means more existing jobs are at risk, but the good news is new jobs will be created and opportunities will remain.
The short answer is no.
For starters, the ability to perform multiple tasks, as an AGI would, does not imply consciousness or self-will. And even if an AI had self-determination, the number of steps required to decide to wipe out humanity and then make progress toward that goal is too many to be realistically possible.
“There’s a lot of things that I would say are not hard evidence or proof, but are working against that narrative [of robots killing us all someday],” Riedl said.
He also pointed to the issue of planning, which he defined as “thinking ahead into your own future to decide what to do to solve a problem that you’ve never solved before.”
LLMs are trained on historical data and are very good at using old information like itineraries to address new problems, like how to plan a vacation.
But other problems require thinking about the future.
“How does an AI system think ahead and plan how to eliminate its adversaries when there is no historical information about that ever happening?” Riedl asked. “You would require … planning and look ahead and hypotheticals that don’t exist yet … there’s this big black hole of capabilities that humans can do that AI is just really, really bad at.”
Dimakis, too, believes sentient robots killing us all has “a very low probability.”
A much bigger risk is this technology ending up closed off within one or two big tech companies instead of being open like it is at universities.
“Having a monopoly or an oligopoly of one or two companies that are the only ones who have these new AI systems will be very bad for the economy because you’d have a huge concentration of technologies being built on top of these AI foundation models,” Dimakis said. “And that is to me one of the biggest risks to consider in the immediate future.”
AGI should not be confused with artificial super intelligence, which is an AI capable of making its own decisions. In other words, it is self-aware, or sentient. This is the AI many people fear now.
“You can think about any of these sci-fi stories and movies where you have robots and they have AI that are planning and thinking on their own,” Shah said. “They’re able to do things without being directed and can assume control completely on their own without any supervision.”
But the good news is ASI is much further away than AGI. And so there’s time to implement guardrails and guide — or hinder — its development.
That being said, Thorsten Joachims, a professor of computer science at Cornell, believes we will hold AI systems to higher standards than we hold ourselves — and this may ultimately help us address some of society’s shortcomings.
For example, humans commit crimes.
“We would never put up with it if an AI system did that,” he said.
Joachims also pointed to decision-making, particularly in courts of law. Even well-educated and experienced professionals like judges pass down vastly different sentences for similar cases.
He believes we won’t tolerate this kind of inconsistency in AI either. These higher standards will inform how AI systems are built — and, in the end, they may not even look all that human.
In fact, AGI may ultimately help us solve problems we’ve long struggled with, like curing cancer. And even if that’s the only thing a particular AI can do, that alone would be revolutionary.
“Maybe it cannot pass the Turing test” — a standard method for assessing a computer’s ability to pass as human — “so maybe we wouldn’t even consider it intelligent in any way, but certainly it would save billions of lives,” said Adam Klivans, a professor of computer science at the University of Texas and director of the National Science Foundation’s AI Institute for Foundations of Machine Learning. “It would be incredible.”
In other words, AI can help us solve problems without fully mimicking human intelligence.
“These are not so much exactly AGI in the sense that they do what humans do, but rather they augment humanity in very useful ways,” Dimakis said. “This is not doing what humans can do, but rather creating new AI tools that are going to improve the human condition.”
When it comes to premium smartphones, the two most prominent options have different approaches to taking photos. The shiny titanium-clad and -colored $1,300 Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with four rear cameras, including two dedicated to zooming and one with a 200-megapixel sensor. Apple’s titanium-clad and -colored $1,200 iPhone 15 Pro Max packs three rear cameras, one for zooming and a main one with a 48-megapixel sensor.
Let me state the obvious: Both capture some of the absolute best photos you can take from any phone today, especially in challenging environments like high-contrast scenes (think a sunset) or places where the lighting is dim (think a restaurant).
Read more: Best Phone to Buy for 2024
Before I took a single snap, I expected the S24’s array of zoom cameras to handle distanced subjects better. And yet I also knew that Apple is no slouch and might bury Samsung’s best efforts with the iPhone’s masterful photo processing and video image quality. How do they stack up against each other?
I took them around San Francisco to find out.
After I shot hundreds of photos and videos with both phones and compared them side by side, a more complex reality revealed itself, with the iPhone and Ultra excelling in some situations and struggling in others.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a trio of lenses: wide, ultrawide and telephoto. The main camera has a 48-megapixel sensor, while the other two have a resolution of 12 megapixels. There’s a bit of a gulf in terms of zooming between the main 1x camera and the 5x telephoto. And that’s where the differences between the two phones start to reveal themselves.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a similar trio of lenses but adds a second telephoto, with a 3x zoom level. Think of it as if Apple took the 15 Pro Max and added the iPhone 15 Pro’s dedicated 3x telephoto to the back, thus creating an actually nonexistent iPhone 15 Ultra with both 3x and 5x cameras.
| Camera | Zoom level | Resolution | Aperture | Lens full-frame equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Pro Max ultrawide | 0.5x | 12 megapixels | f/2.2 | 13 millimeters |
| 15 Pro Max wide | 1x | 48 megapixels | f/1.78 | 24 millimeters |
| 15 Pro Max telephoto | 5x | 12 megapixels | f/2.8 | 120 millimeters |
| S24 Ultra ultrawide | 0.6x | 12 megapixels | f/2.2 | 13 millimeters |
| S24 Ultra wide | 1x | 200 megapixels | f/1.7 | 23 millimeters |
| S24 Ultra telephoto No. 1 | 3x | 10 megapixels | f/2.4 | 69 millimeters |
| S24 Ultra telephoto No. 2 | 5x | 50 megapixels | f/3.4 | 115 millimeters |
That’s a lot of damn cameras. Remember the days when phones had just one?
The S24 Ultra’s main camera has a 200-megapixel sensor, and the new 5x telephoto camera has a 50-megapixel one. Both Apple and Samsung use their main camera’s high resolution sensor (and in Samsung’s case the one on the Ultra’s 5x telephoto camera) to combine multiple pixels to create 12-megapixel photos that are brighter and have more detail and less image noise. The phones can also use sensor crop to effectively turn the main 1x shooter into a 2x camera that takes 12-megapixel photos (without pixel binning). It’s curious that the Ultra’s 3x 10-megapixel camera takes 12-megapixel images. Where does it get those two extra megapixels from?
In regard to the shooting experience, I love the S24 Ultra’s new screen, which is far less reflective than the iPhone’s. I don’t have trouble seeing what’s on the 15 Pro Max, even in direct sunlight, but the Ultra’s display feels more immersive because there’s less glare when taking photos.
The camera apps on both are packed with familiar options like dedicated photo, video and portrait modes, as well as the ability to shoot Raw files and change resolution on some of the cameras.
The iPhone can capture ProRes video files and spatial videos (which can be viewed on the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 VR headsets). Samsung’s camera app has dedicated pro modes for photos and videos, and is more customizable. I can move the camera modes around to my liking and add ones I prefer. I can also use the Ultra’s S Pen as a remote shutter button to take a photo.
One of my favorite options is adding a floating shutter button that can be positioned anywhere on screen to take a photo. It’s great for those times you can’t reach the absolute bottom of the screen to tap the regular shutter button, or when using volume buttons isn’t an option.
Both phones take excellent pictures. Below are a few of my favorites.
But let’s get to the good stuff: head-to-head photo comparisons. And let’s start with the images below of a challenging high contrast scene of a sunset in San Francisco’s Mission District. The photos are from the main cameras, and I’m impressed with both. The biggest difference is the way each phone handles the glare from the sun, which is more pronounced in the iPhone’s photo. The S24 Ultra’s snap is a tad brighter, especially when you pinch in a bit. The S24 Ultra boosts the shadow details — notice the trees on the bottom right. In the iPhone’s picture, the trees kind of get lost in the shadows, but in the Ultra’s image, you can actually make out more of the individual branches.
Below is another set of main camera images, this time of a plant in a window. At first glance they look similar, but notice how the S24 Ultra rolls off the highlights on the leaves — so smooth. The text on the books under the plant is readable in both images, though it’s crisper in the iPhone’s snap.
I took the photos below, of my CNET colleagues Jessica Fierro (left) and Amy Kim playing foosball, with the ultrawide cameras. Compared to the main camera, there’s a definite step down in image quality from both phones, but compared to each other they’re similar.
Both phones applied a lot of noise reduction. The ceiling in the iPhone’s photo is riddled with image noise, and in the Ultra’s photo, the noise is gone but the same ceiling looks overly soft and almost blurry. Notice how the phones handled the image noise on Jessica and Amy. In the iPhone’s photo, Jessica’s skin and hair looks more natural, albeit soft from motion blur. Whereas in the Ultra’s image, she almost looks like a painting from all the noise reduction and over sharpening.
I absolutely love this photo from the Ultra of my CNET pal Celso Bulgatti, taken with the dedicated 3x zoom camera. There’s a good balance when it comes to detail, and the highlights look so good. It’s subtle, but the cutout effect looks clean, with the transition between in-focus and out-of-focus looking natural. His skin tone is a bit more saturated than in real life, but it looks good.
Speaking of 3x, remember the Ultra has a dedicated 3x camera whereas the iPhone is using a 3x digital zoom to get the same image. And you can see the difference below. The iPhone’s photo isn’t bad, but it has artifacts from the digital zoom, especially around the flag. Overall the iPhone’s photo looks softer — notice the details in the ornamentation on the building in the background but also in the bricks in the building on the right.
Here’s another pair of 3x photos — of a Star Wars figurine on my desk. The Ultra’s photo looks better in every way.
Here are some photos of downtown San Francisco that I took from a rooftop with the 5x camera on both phones. Right away, the iPhone nailed the focus, which the Ultra struggled to do. I don’t know if it was the sun reflecting off Salesforce Tower, but the Ultra hunted for focus in this setup anytime I used the 5x camera, especially as I started to zoom in digitally.
Below are 5x optical zoom images, both in focus. I like the Ultra’s more. It feels like the iPhone is protecting highlights by ramping down the exposure, and as a consequence the shadows are darker. The Ultra has good detail throughout — notice the trees in the foreground and the windows on Salesforce Tower.
I kept zooming in further on this scene. Below are 15x digital zoom photos. And again the Ultra struggled to get focus. I took four photos and all are out of focus, with the fourth one below the least out of focus.
The iPhone’s maximum digital zoom is 25x. Below are photos from both phones at that magnification. You might get away sharing these on social media, but neither photo looks good. I give the edge to the Ultra’s photo, which looks cleaner.
But the Ultra can zoom even more, with the image quality deteriorating even more. Below is a 50x digital zoom photo. As you can see, the noise reduction is making the image look more like a painting than a photo from a $1,300 phone!
And here’s one last photo of this scene, taken at 100x digital zoom. It’s so processed and soft that it doesn’t look like a photo. And again the Ultra struggled to get focus.
Below is a pair of 5x photos of Maisie the cat. Both look good. The iPhone captured more of the texture in her fur and is overall brighter.
I can’t believe I’ve made it this far without mentioning AI. For years, phones have used AI, algorithms and machine learning to improve photos and create unique modes, like for portraits or night photos. None of this is new to either phone. But the S24 Ultra has some new generative AI tools called Galaxy AI, similar to the technology that powers ChatGPT and Dall-E and ranging from novelty to useful.
Most of this happens in the Ultra’s Gallery app and can be applied only after you take a photo or record a video. For instance, I can use the Generative Edit tool to remove a person or object from a photo and fill in the empty space. I can also move a person or object around or change their size. This tool and others still feel more experimental than dependable. Sometimes when I removed an object or a person there were obvious signs that something was manipulated, whether it was a strange texture or an odd halo of what was there before. Other times, the AI generated something random to fill in the space.
For example, I tried to have it remove a person from the photo below only for the Ultra to replace him with a circular cafe table. Did it remove the person? Yes. Is it odd for there to be a cafe table on the roof of a building where there isn’t a cafe or other tables? Yes.
One area where the Generative Edit tool is useful is for straightening photos. When I straighten a photo on the iPhone (and most other phones) the picture is cropped in to get the desired result. On the S24 Ultra, Generative Edit can fill in the parts of a photo beyond the frame, that weren’t even there, eliminating the need to crop in.
Obviously, the iPhone doesn’t have any of these generative AI features built in to its Camera or Photos apps. At this point, I don’t think that’s a miss, but as generative AI features improve and become more useful, their absence could be a huge disadvantage. Even though portrait mode doesn’t use generative AI, think how much better it is today versus the clumsy background blurs of years past when the feature first came out.
As you’ve seen, both phones take excellent photos. In my time with the Ultra, I’ve been blown away by the quality of the photos, especially those from the 3x lens. And I absolutely love that low-reflection screen, it’s a small but significant improvement.
Though I didn’t go into comparisons of all the various modes or videos, both phones are evenly matched in those areas as well. The iPhone has a slight edge in its ability to record ProRes video files, though there are third-party Android apps that can do the same.
The biggest barrier for me, and most people, is going to be the price. Paying $1,200 or $1,300 or more for larger storage is a giant investment that goes well beyond just how good the cameras are. I’d likely push people toward a smaller iPhone 15 Pro, or Google’s Pixel 8 Pro. Both still cost a grand, but are hundreds less than the Ultra or 15 Pro Max.
Want to see how the Ultra does against one of the other best phone cameras? Check out our camera comparison between the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Pixel 8 Pro.
Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.
Chelsea’s recent improvement under boss Mauricio Pochettino will be firmly put to the test on Saturday as they travel to the Etihad Stadium to take on a Man City side that has hit all-conquering form.
City are on a 10-match winning run, and showed their class in midweek in an impressive 3-1 Champions League away win over FC Copenhagen.
Big wins over Crystal Palace in the English Premier League and Aston Villa in the FA Cup have meanwhile given Chelsea renewed hope of a top-seven finish.
Neutral fans will be hoping for more of the same after these two sides played out an absorbing 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season in the reverse fixture.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live wherever you are in the world.
Manchester City host Chelseaat the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 17. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. GMT (12:30 p.m. ET, 9:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada; and 4:30 a.m. AEDT on Sunday, Feb. 18, in Australia).
If you find yourself unable to view the game locally, you may need a different way to watch the game — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
Saturday’s Man City vs. Chelsea match is streaming on Peacock. You’ll need a Peacock Premium or Premium Plus account to catch the game live.
Premier League rights in the UK are split between Sky Sports, Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports (previously known as BT Sport). Man City vs. Chelsea is exclusive to Sky Sports, showing on its Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League and Ultra channels. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the game via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the game.
If you want to stream Man City vs. Chelsea live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to Fubo. The service has exclusive rights for this Premier League season.
Football fans Down Under can watch this EPL fixture on streaming service Optus Sport, which is showing every single Premier League game live in Australia this season.
This year’s TV offerings are bound to keep you entertained. Despite a few setbacks in 2023, viewers can look forward to a new wave of shows that include spinoffs, anime, returning series and video game adaptations. We’ll also see beloved properties hit the small screen in ways we haven’t necessarily seen before.
For example, there’s Netflix’s live-action take on Avatar: The Last Airbender. Most of us saw a previous attempt at adapting Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino’s animated series, and as a fan, I’m cautiously optimistic about this upcoming version (but still can’t wait to watch it). New releases like Fallout, The Penguin, X-Men ’97, Shōgun and Agatha: Darkhold Diaries seem like prime candidates for watchlists.
Star Wars fans are in for a treat, as the brand has multiple shows hitting Disney Plus this year, while Netflix is saying goodbye to popular franchises like Cobra Kai, You, The Umbrella Academy, Big Mouth and Sweet Tooth. There’s lots of action with returning series such as House of the Dragon, The Boys, Tales of the Jedi and Squid Game. Comedy is also on deck with Abbott Elementary and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
We’ll also admit there are some shows we’re hoping will air in 2024, but it’s unknown whether their premiere dates have been pushed back — including Starz hits like Power Book II and P-Valley, and Peacock’s Poker Face and Bel-Air. Here’s a sampling of the best to come in 2024, and we’ll keep this list updated throughout the year with release dates and titles.
Read more: Best Streaming Services of 2024
Griselda (Jan. 25): A fictionalized story about the real-life Colombian crime boss, Griselda Blanco. The series stars Sofia Vergara along with Alberto Guerra, Christian Tappan, Martín Rodríguez and Karol G.
Squid Game: Season 2 is set to return this year, according to Netflix, and the story will pick up with Gi-hun, Front Man, detective Hwang Jun-ho and the Recruiter.
3 Body Problem (March 21): The new sci-fi mystery series is based on the book by Liu Cixin, and comes from Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
The Gentlemen (March 7): This Guy Ritchie series follows Eddie Horniman (Theo James), an unsuspecting heir to a weed business who gets sucked into the British criminal underground.
Ripley (April 4): Fleabag’s Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley in this thriller based on The Talented Mr. Ripley book.
Bridgerton (May 16; June 13): Ready to get swept up in another Bridgerton romance? Season 3 is all about Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s love story, which will be broken up into two parts with four episodes each.
Sweet Tooth: The final installment is expected to come out this year. Watch Gus, Bear, Jepperd and Wendy when their journey takes them to frigid Alaska.
The Umbrella Academy (Aug. 8): Season 4 will debut with more timeline mayhem, Hargreeves sibling drama and a round of new characters.
You: It’s the final bow for Netflix’s hit psychological thriller series. Of course, I need to see how things turn out forits extremely unhinged protagonist, Joe.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft: Hayley Atwell voices the titular character in the animated series, which is adapted from the video game.
Vikings: Valhalla: Will Freydis, Leif and Harald reunite in season 3 — and will these relationships survive their time apart? Stream it to find out and to meet Freydis’ and Leif’s father, Erik the Red.
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid spinoff that finally brought Danny and Johnny together on one accord ends with season 6. However, the show’s creators have hinted there may be new things in store for “the Miyagiverse.”
Big Mouth: Middle school finally ends for Nick, Maurice, Andrew, Jessi, Connie and the rest of the gang when season 8 arrives later this year.
The Night Agent: FBI agent Peter Sutherland possibly takes on a covert new role in season 2.
Devil May Cry: The video game adaptation will make its anime debut, but we’ll let the trailer speak for itself.
X-Men ’97 (March 20): A revival of the 1992 animated series, this Marvel show includes a voice cast from days past with favorites like Wolverine, Magneto, Rogue, Beast, Gambit and Storm. Keen on this nostalgia trip.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Disney continues to build out its Star Wars universe with this new series that revolves around four kids lost in space trying to get home.
Moana: Based on the Disney film, the musical TV show is meant to be a sequel to the 2016 movie.
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: After a well-received first season, a new installment of the animated anthology series is on the way, exploring more character lore.
The Acolyte: Another original series in the Star Wars franchise, The Acolyte is described as a mystery show that unites a Jedi master with one of his former proteges to investigate crimes.
Abbott Elementary (Feb. 7 on ABC and Feb. 8 on Hulu):Quinta Brunson’s hilarious comedy returns to TV with a one-hour premiere for season 3. Will Janine and Gregory ever truly make it out of the friend zone? Let’s see.
Shōgun (Feb. 27): This FX and Hulu series debuts Feb. 27 and kicks off when an English sailor arrives on the shores of Japan. Hiroyuki Sanada plays Lord Yoshii Toranaga in the latest adaptation of James Clavell’s novel.
Grey’s Anatomy (March 14 ABC/ March 15 Hulu): Season 20 will see Meredith Grey back for a spell and the newest crop of interns in the long-running medical drama.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (Feb. 4): Larry David is back for one last go after a nearly 25-year run. Ten episodes will wrap up the series, with each airing on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
Tokyo Vice (Feb. 8): Set in the late ’90s to early 2000s, the crime drama returns with more dangerous twists and turns for its protagonist, Jake, and those close to him.
The Sympathizer (April 14): It’s part dark comedy, part spy drama coming from HBO and A24, and is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel.
The Regime (March 4): A new HBO political satire starring Kate Winslet. The Regime is everything your Sunday nights have been missing. But will six episodes be enough?
Hacks (spring 2024): Deborah and Ava may not have seen the last of each other yet, as season 3 is coming this spring which could mean their comedy-writing partnership finds new life.
Dune: Prophecy (fall 2024): A prequel that takes place 10,000 years before the events in the book and film, the series will explore the Bene Gesserit. It is due to stream on Max later in 2024.
The Penguin (expected fall 2024): A Max original starring Colin Farrell that picks up after The Batman, with the villain as a Gotham gangster. What’s not to like?
Expats (Jan. 26): Nicole Kidman’s character is among the community of women living in Hong Kong whose lives intertwine through tragedy.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Feb. 2): Two spies in a fake marriage can’t risk blowing their cover in this retelling starring Donald Glover and Mia Erskine. We’re eager to see how action, subterfuge and relationship drama blend.
Invincible (March 14): Part 2 of season 2 will see Mark still grappling with his father Omni-Man’s betrayal, and an overarching danger from a new threat. Strap in for the next four episodes of the season.
Fallout (April 12): The famous apocalyptic game hits the small screen in a live-action adaptation that we can’t wait to check out.
The New Look (Feb. 14): If you’ve ever been curious about the history of luxury fashion icons, then The New Look will take you there. It’s fiction, but the series is about how Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Pierre Balmain and Cristóbal Balenciaga created their designs and empires in Nazi-occupied Paris — with some rivalry thrown in.
Palm Royale (March 20): Kristen Wiig in a late-1960s backdrop? In this comedy, she plays a woman aiming to become part of the privileged class in Palm Beach.
Chucky (May 5): The second half of season 3 is slated for a spring return with an aging — yet foul-mouthed — Chucky, who may or may not make it to season 4. Stream it on Peacock to see if Damballa comes through for him.
Halo (Feb. 8): At the time of its 2022 debut, Halo set a record as the most-watched premiere for the streamer. Don’t miss season 2 when it lands this winter.
Parish (spring 2024): Giancarlo Esposito plays a family man in New Orleans who loses his son, but gets pulled into the criminal world when an old acquaintance pops up.
Interview with the Vampire (TBA, spring 2024): Season 2 is about more than Lestat and Louis in 19th-century New Orleans, and there are vampires in Paris this time. We like how the story is told from a modern perspective with great music, costumes and performances.
Orphan Black: Echoes: If you loved the original Orphan Black series, then you’ll want to give this spinoff a chance. It features Krysten Ritter as Lucy, who has no memory but learns she’s a print-out of Eleanor. Stream its 10 episodes this year.
