Apple is reportedly developing new tools to help third-party AI apps integrate with Siri.
Apple is moving away from ChatGPT exclusivity for its Siri voice assistant in an attempt to bolster its AI offerings, Bloomberg has reported. Earlier this week, it was reported that Apple is testing a new standalone app for Siri.
According to the publication, the changes are expected as part of a Siri overhaul in Apple’s upcoming iOS 27. A preview version of the new operating system is set to be shown in June, before being released in September alongside the company’s yearly launch of new Apple products.
The tech giant is developing new tools to allow AI chatbots installed via its App Store to integrate with Siri, sources told Bloomberg – potentially enabling Gemini, Claude and other ChatGPT competitors to take its place.
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It’s unclear whether Apple will allow any AI assistant to be integrated with Siri, or if there will be an approval process. Apple announced its exclusive partnership with OpenAI’s chatbot back in 2024.
Such an approach would also allow Apple to earn more from third-party AI subscriptions. However, these changes are separate from Apple’s plans to rebuild Siri with Gemini.
Compared to others in the Big Tech league, Apple has been cautious to pick up pace in the AI race. Despite that, the company recently posted “record” earnings, with iPhone quarterly revenue jumping 23pc, driven by “unprecedented demand”.
In January, Apple acquired an Israeli start-up that specialises in AI technology for audio. The acquisition, reportedly costing the company as much as $2bn, is expected to help Apple advance in the AI-powered wearables race to better compete with the likes of Meta and OpenAI.
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Meanwhile, last October, it was reported that the company paused work on a cheaper and lighter variant of Vision Pro headset, pivoting development efforts, instead, towards AI-powered smart glasses.
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Caviar created an extremely limited run of this Steve Jobs edition iPhone 17 Pro, only 9 copies. Each has a genuine piece of Steve Jobs’ iconic black Issey Miyake turtleneck, neatly tucked within the phone. The turtleneck piece is casually tucked away in the center of the back panel, but it’s still visible, shielded by a raised titanium Apple logo that serves as both a seal and a prominent focus point.
The main body is black titanium with carbon fiber woven in for texture and silver accents around the edges that quietly reference the original 2007 iPhone. The Apple logo sits slightly off center, and the understated engraving keeps things minimal, striking a balance between a clear nod to the past and something that still feels unmistakably current.
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Steve Jobs’ signature is engraved into the frame alongside the words ’50th Anniversary Edition,’ giving the whole thing an unexpectedly personal quality. The accompanying certificate confirms that the fragment of turtleneck fabric worked into the design came from one of Jobs’ own jackets. In hand the phone feels exactly as considered as it looks, the titanium balanced and substantial, and the carbon fiber shifting in appearance as the light catches it from different angles.
The back panel draws the eye straight to the Apple logo, with the turtleneck fragment subtle enough that you almost miss it until you know it is there. Flip it over and the signature engraving comes into view, a quiet nod to the anniversary that inspired the whole project. Only nine units were made, and they are available now through Caviar’s website. Each one comes fully authenticated, so buyers can be confident the turtleneck fragment is exactly what it claims to be. [Source]
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Sometimes, a screwdriver won’t get the job done. This is where a solid power drill with a set of drill bits can save the day, plowing through and inserting fasteners into a range of materials with ease. Unfortunately, it’s not always so easy to walk into a hardware store and get a strong set of bits. Some of the bits from specific brands aren’t great quality, failing to work well at all, losing their edge within a few uses, or breaking entirely. Naturally, this amounts to a waste of money that customers are more than willing to talk about online, hopefully preventing their fellow tool-users from suffering disaster.
This all boils down to being educated and using common sense when buying drill bits. On the price front, drill bits are often a get-what-you-pay-for kind of tool. If the price seems too low for all you supposedly get and the marketing claims seem too good to be true, these are likely bits to avoid. Buyers should also be mindful of the materials they’re said to be made from and what kind of durability such materials typically provide. While it’s possible to use a bench grinder to sharpen drill bits, sharpening is not something that should have to be done often, especially if you only use your bits sparingly.
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On top of the specifics of the bits themselves, it’s worth digging into the reputation of drill bit brands behind them before you buy. These are just a few of the many brands that users feel offer the worst sets on the market.
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Warrior
Harbor Freight has numerous brands under its purview, with Warrior being one of the most prominent. Still, this doesn’t mean all of its products are worth purchasing. Just as there are Warrior tools Harbor Freight customers recommend steering clear of, the brand’s drill bits haven’t received universal customer praise. There’s plenty of negativity surrounding the brand’s bits online, such as a YouTube review from MZ’s Garage. According to their experience, Warrior’s brad point drill bit set is a big miss. The shanks on their bits were crooked, preventing them from effectively drilling a clean, straight hole through material. Missing etched bit labels were also a problem, so they recommended against the set.
Meanwhile, there are several written forum threads on the subject of Warrior’s low-quality drill bits. On Reddit, u/rynil2000 made a thread on their poor Warrior experience, recalling bits snapping and dulling without much effort. In the comments, others shared the sentiment that Warrior’s bits are no good, with it mentioned a few times that the brand’s smaller offerings like drill bits and sandpaper are rough across the board. u/Hard_Head also had a bad experience with Warrior, with commenters in their thread expressing no surprise that cheaper-priced bits broke so easily. Those in u/jayste4‘s thread didn’t have high praise for Warrior either, calling them cheap, disposable, and ineffective.
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Bad Dog Tools
While not sold at large brick-and-mortar retailers, Bad Dog Tools’ drill bits have managed to make the rounds in tool circles all the same. Unfortunately, the brand hasn’t made a great impression on many of its customers with its bit selection. Case in Point, YouTuber TylerTube, who put a Bad Dog drill bit set through its paces in their video and wasn’t happy with the result. The bits lacked in durability right out of the box, and they struggled to make clean holes without moving all around on the material. JimboFive0 on YouTube found their Bad Dog bits to be poor quality, almost immediately breaking, with the company’s customer service failing to help them out as hoped.
Over on Amazon, there are many negative reviews on Bad Dog drill bits. The Bad Dog seven-piece multipurpose drill bit set has 30% one-star reviews, where customers warned others of off-kilter drill bits, breakage after drilling only a few holes, and failure to cut through materials like concrete effectively, despite advertised as being able to handle such jobs. Most in a thread by u/Additional_Cat5490 about Bad Dog spoke negatively on its drill bits as well. Several commenters corroborated the claim that the bits fail to live up to the brand’s marketing, which heavily touts their ability to handle numerous material types and last longer than other bits.
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Ryobi
Ryobi has more than made a name for itself in the power tool space. At this point, there are multiple Ryobi cordless drills at different price points to consider. According to customers, though, Ryobi’s bits aren’t worth the money. For instance, in a thread by u/murmur333 on Reddit, they and others spoke to the brand’s bits disappoint in durability and are effectively disposable. It’s even recommended by one user to use bits from brand like DeWalt in a Ryobi drill for better results than going Ryobi for both. Fellow Redditor u/PaidByMicrosoft and others in their thread reported their Ryobi bits breaking after only a few uses.
Going beyond Reddit, the lack of support for Ryobi’s drill bits resumes. Looking to the Home Depot website, many Ryobi bit kits have taken on negative reviews. Looking at the Ryobi black oxide round shank bit set, it has a 3.9 out of five star rating with numerous one-star reviews. These over 70 reviews speak of their bits being bent right out of the box, breaking after only a few holes, and quickly dulling with use. The Ryobi black oxide hex shank twist drill bit set also took some criticism at 3.7 out of five stars. The almost 200 one-star reviews share similar instances of sudden breakage and dulling with minimal or even one-time use.
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Milwaukee
Much like Ryobi, Milwaukee has made itself a fixture in the power tool world. Many tool enthusiasts love Milwaukee for a range of reasons, but it does have some areas to improve on. According to many users, the brand’s drill bits can leave a lot to be desired. While some vouch for Milwaukee or feel its bits are just fine, several folks in Reddit threads by u/Charlesinrichmond and u/NoOlive1039 recalled instances of breakage and highlighted a general lack in quality. u/thebeansimulator also expressed firsthand disappointment in Milwaukee bits failing after just a few holes, with those in the comments recommending what they’ve found are superior brands.
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Digging into Home Depot reviews, there are multiple Milwaukee drill bit sets that didn’t perform the best with everyone. The Milwaukee black oxide step drill bit set has taken some flak, with negative reviews mentioning one or multiple bits breaking with little use and failing to effectively drill into material as advertised. The Milwaukee Shockwave carbide multi-material masonry bit set didn’t fare much better with a large number of Home Depot customers. Bit tip wear after just a few holes, complete breakage, or total inability to drill into certain materials made this set a disappointment for many who tried it out — especially given the Shockwave line prides itself on increased durability and efficiency.
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How these drill bit brands were selected
KravchenkoPictures/Shutterstock
These specific drill bit brands were selected as users’ least favorites through extensive research. The first thing to do was go to various home improvement stores such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Harbor Freight to look over the sentiment toward the most prominent drill bit brands. This included star ratings and the number of customer reviews under bits and full kits. From here, it was possible to whittle down that list to those that had received some of the least support among customers.
With the brands chosen, digging into reviews was the next step. It needed to be determined where exactly these bits went wrong for customers, and ensure their less-than-stellar reputation wasn’t based on user error. This entailed looking through reviews on product listings, forums like Reddit, and media platforms like YouTube to find commonalities in negative user experiences. This made it clear that these bits’ inability to deliver was somewhat universal and the claims of these brands being bad wasn’t based on one-off anecdotes.
I first noticed it when, a few months ago, I opened an email from Ian, my literary agent. Before I’d had a chance to read anything he’d written, Gmail was recommending a full, fleshed-out, AI-generated reply, ventriloquizing ideas for a book and even my feelings about the job transition I’d recently made. It had mined my inbox to infer why Ian was writing to me and ingested bits of my style, even signing off with the lowercase “m” that I use with people with whom I have an easy familiarity.
For around a decade, Google had been suggesting very generic, sometimes monosyllabic “smart replies” — things like “Okay” or “Thanks!” or “Any thoughts?” I’ve used these to send quick acknowledgements to emails I’d have otherwise forgotten about. But in the last couple years, Gmail has begun to offer fully formed draft replies that presume to impersonate my own, individual reactions to my interlocutors’ questions, ideas, and emotions.
This felt like a striking turn. I reflected with some sadness on the idea of sending one of these to someone who matters to me — how dehumanizing to both me and Ian it would feel to make him read a counterfeit subjectivity pretending to be my own.
You might say this is no big deal; maybe it gives you time back for deeper work or more meaningful parts of your life (I wouldn’t begrudge that at all — AI saves me time, too!). We’re all drowning in too much email, much of it pointless or lacking any great meaning. Isn’t that exactly the kind of day-to-day tedium that we should happily invite AI to liberate us from?
But I think that this machine-generated personal correspondence, which is only likely to spread further into other forms of communication, has preoccupied me because there’s something deeper going on here. A lot of ink has been spilled in the last few years about AI-generated writing and its social consequences — how it will deskill millions of workers, outsource our thinking, confuse kids growing up in the AI age about the difference between real and synthetic friends, and so on. We already know that AI language is unnervingly good at sounding like it’s the product of a fellow consciousness. But the particular creepiness of elaborate email autocomplete is that it’s training on and simulating your consciousness. And as it does so, it also gives you a little less reason to actually be conscious.
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AI writing and “cognitive surrender”
Like many knowledge workerswho derive their living and their identities from cognitive capacities now being at least partially replicated in silicon, I have a complicated and ambivalent relationship with generative AI. I now depend on it to research almost every story I work on, a purpose for which it’s obviously very useful (despite those who still insist it can never be useful for anything).
I am, though, deeply skeptical of using it for writing, because, as many writers smarter than me have already noted, writing is inextricable from thinking, and short-circuiting it can diminish our capacity for deep thought. The friction of writing is not dead weight but is part of how you decide what you mean and give coherence to ideas. For that reason, my former Vox colleague, the brilliant Kelsey Piper, who is generally positive about AI’s potential to make us more productive and improve human life, said on a recent podcast episode, “I would never use it to write.”
In a recent paper, a pair of University of Pennsylvania scholars described the wholesale outsourcing of cognitively complex tasks to AI as “cognitive surrender.” “An abdication of critical evaluation,” they write, “where the user relinquishes cognitive control and adopts the AI’s judgment as their own.” This is one reason why it felt especially inappropriate to have AI generate thoughts for me in reply to someone with whom I’m brainstorming about writing a book, likely one of the most cognitively demanding things I’ll ever do. Email, for all of its annoyances, is also relational. And letting a machine generate your side of the exchange diminishes the authenticity of your connection to another person.
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Sometimes the AI drafts, of course, are plainly wrong. An AI-suggested email might, for example, say you’ve read a book that you haven’t, perhaps making it more likely that you go along with the false claim. But what unsettles me the most is not the mere hallucination, it is when the AI is right, or right enough. My email’s AI is pulling from its knowledge of everything I’ve written before, so it can often make a reasonable guess of what I’d want to say anyway. The system is not wholly failing to reproduce my mind, but is actually producing a close-to plausible substitute for it.
It feels like the beginnings of what Silicon Valley has prophesized for decades as a coming merge (sometimes called the “singularity”) between human and machine minds. I used to consider this a totally improbable idea, but I hadn’t been open-minded enough. It might turn out to be dispiritingly easy for an advanced AI to train on a sample of your past thoughts and write future ones for you.
Still, it seems unlikely that we will simply acclimate to the idea that all the written communication we encounter and generate every day may be AI-generated. So much, if not most, of our interpersonal communication now takes place in writing. However vulnerable we may be to cognitive surrender, humans also have a deep countervailing need to experience language as coming from another conscious mind — to feel seen and known, and to assert our own distinctness in return.
And anyway, Gmail isn’t yet that good at imitating my conscious voice. I would never write, “Lots of interesting stuff coming up at Vox!” (Which isn’t, of course, to say that there isn’t a lot of interesting stuff going on at Vox.) That still leaves me, for now, with the pleasure of figuring out what I want to say.
When right wing billionaire Larry Ellison (and his nepobaby kid David) hired trolling blogger Bari Weiss to run CBS News, Weiss arrived with the promise of “balanced, fact-based news,” “independent, principled journalism,” and a unique “entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision” that would completely modernize the network and reach the “everyday Americans” traditionally ignored by mainstream media.
As we noted at the time, that was all bullshit code for turning CBS into yet another outlet that panders to global autocrats, normalizes far right wing extremism, coddles corporate power, and generally shits all over progressive societal reforms.
Weiss wasn’t a journalist, had no serious journalism experience, isn’t good at journalism, and wasn’t hired to do journalism. She was hired specifically to do ratings-grabbing, viral, right wing friendly agitprop which the Ellisons mistakenly seemed to think there was a massive market for. But unfortunately for Weiss, she’s not good at that either.
And it’s just observationally true that nobody actually wants what CBS’ new ownership is selling.
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Broadcast TV was already in trouble (just 20% of all TV viewing is now broadcast). The conspiratorial right wing MAGA movement already has countless propaganda outlets to choose from. And the folks who used to find CBS News semi useful aren’t sticking around. “CBS Evening News” ratings keep dipping below 4 million viewers; the kind of ratings that caused CBS to revamp things in the first place.
“Demo figures are perhaps even more alarming. “CBS Evening News” lost about 15% of its viewership in the adults 25 to 54 bracket for the first quarter of 2026. ABC is also off by around 4%, while “Nightly” is up 8%.”
“Viewers are smart. They understand that under Ellison’s ownership, and with Weiss at the helm, CBS News has charted a new course … one that is friendlier to Donald Trump and the MAGA movement he leads.”
It’s just not clear who Weiss thinks she’s appealing to. There’s no shortage of weird, timid, corporatist, center-right blandness across journalism. Countless outlets are making such a pivot the under Trump in an industry that’s being increasingly consolidated under the ownership of terrible rich assholes with increasingly extreme, anti-democratic ideals. And fewer and fewer people watch broadcast TV anyway.
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It’s clear Larry Ellison and other right wingers envy and want to emulate the control of media Victor Orban enjoys in Hungary. Under most autocratic models, party-loyal oligarchs buy up all the major companies, pummel the country with propaganda, and the government sues, harasses, and strangles real journalism just out of frame. As it progresses and gets worse, journalists often wind up dead.
But America is much bigger and much more diverse than Hungary. People are also increasingly consuming media and news in short form snippets from a massive and expanding assortment of influencers (credible or not), independent outlets, and direct-to-consumer journalists. “Flooding the zone with shit,” (to use a Steve Bannon term) impacts everybody, and makes it hard for any one player to dominate modern media.
The folks who’ll rise above the noise in this fractured, new, badly automated, modern media landscape have to be either extremely clever, inherently gifted at pandering to the lowest common denominator, or undeniably authentic.
Bari Weiss is none of those.
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Bari came into her job insisting she had the secret sauce to modernize CBS in the viral social media era, and by every indication there’s no evidence that’s actually true. Much of the stuff she’s introduced is just foundationally boring cack of interest to nobody.
As a result, I suspect Weiss’ tenure won’t last past the end of the summer.
I don’t want to give Larry Ellison any ideas, but you could see a future where he hires someone who actually is the modern hustlebro manfluencer version of Roger Ailes; somebody who can leverage CBS and Ellison’s new co-ownership of TikTok to create a truly modern, even uglier version of Fox News that seeds social media with inflammatory, pseudo-journalistic bullshit peppered with sports betting ads.
The thing is there’s just absolutely no evidence anybody at this new Paramount is remotely competent for good or ill, whether we’re talking about Weiss or Paramount President Jeff Shell (who was fired from Comcast for allegations of sexual harassment, and is now going through weird legal tangles at CBS).
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Unfortunately, if all Larry Ellison accomplishes is the destruction of another cornerstone of U.S. journalism, he’s still broadly made the world a worse place in a way that benefits him personally. Though even then, you’d like to think there’s potential for people who actually have something ethical or authentic to say to build something useful from the ashes.
Judge Jane Boyle of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled Thursday that X failed to show any “antitrust injury,” such as a measurable benefit to rival social media companies. “The very nature of the alleged conspiracy does not state an antitrust claim, and the court… Read Entire Article Source link
BGIS Grand Finals have just started, and it was exhilarating. We expected top performance from teams like Soul and GodLike, and we got them. On top of that, we also got GENS putting on an absolute show of domination in terms of finishes. Here’s everything that happened on the first day of BGIS Grand Finals 2026.
Match 2 & 3: Soul Flip the Script Against Team Tamilas
Team Tamilas looked like the clear favorites for most of the match. They had control, positioning, and momentum going their way until the final circles.
Getting into the playzone turned out to be their biggest problem, and that’s exactly where Team Soul stepped in and completely wiped them out.
Soul went on to take the chicken dinner in dominant fashion. Goblin led the charge with 5 finishes, while Nakul backed him up with 4. RGE tried to keep up and secured second place, but there was just no stopping Soul in this one.
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The third match kicked off with a bit of a shocker. Home team Tamilas took an unnecessary fight against LEFP—something that could’ve easily been avoided—and paid the price for it.
This match ended up being one for the underdogs. Nebula showed promise for a while, but their push into Pochinki didn’t go as planned, and things fell apart quickly.
Match 4: Slow Start, Explosive Finish
Match 4 started off slow, almost too quiet, with barely any action in the early zones. But once things picked up, chaos followed.
Ninz were the first to go after getting caught in a bridge camp by Reckoning. Nebula’s rough day continued as they were eliminated soon after. Then came the big surprises—table toppers Soul were knocked out early, followed by WF.
Genesis eSports, however, stole the spotlight. Even without winning, they racked up 17 points purely from finishes, including taking down GodLike. In the end, it came down to VE, WELT, and RGE. VE looked like the strongest team throughout the final moments, and it played out exactly that way as they secured the chicken dinner.
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Match 5 & 6: GodLike Enter the Chat
Match 5 saw Xspark being eliminated early, thanks to a quick play from Jonathan. K9 and OG continued their poor run, while even VE, the previous match winners, had a rough start, managing just 2 points.
Genesis eSports once again came in hot with over five early finishes, but this time they had serious competition—GodLike. The final circle featured GodLike, WF, and VS. What followed was an absolute thriller, with GodLike coming out on top and announcing itself as a serious contender.
The last match of the day was nothing short of madness. It started with early eliminations, including Ninz and even Genesis eSports. GodLike found themselves in a tricky position outside the zone and were eventually taken down by Soul, who were on a roll.
Soul also eliminated OG without losing a single player. The final zone was insane—five teams alive in a semi-urban, rocky area. K9 was the first to fall, followed by Soul. It all came down to VS, VE, and WF. In the end, VS held their nerve and secured the final chicken dinner of the day.
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Soul ended the day topping the standings, followed closely by Godlike. For the full standings, click here.
Cambridge Audio is giving its CX Series a darker look, but the bigger story sits behind the rack. The UK-based brand has introduced Black Edition versions of the CXA81 Mk II integrated amplifier and CXC CD transport, alongside the new CXN100 SE network streamer, which is the only actual addition to the lineup. All three arrive in a refined matte black finish, with no changes to the core circuitry or performance compared to the standard Lunar Grey models.
What matters more, however, is where Cambridge Audio is headed in North America. Distribution has shifted to Fidelity Imports in the U.S. and True North Distribution in Canada (a new joint venture with Playback Distribution), a move that could have far greater impact on availability, dealer support, and long-term brand visibility than a fresh coat of paint. The hardware may look different, but the strategy behind it is doing the real work.
CXA81 MKII Integrated Amplifier
The anchor of Cambridge Audio’s CX range, the CXA81 Mk II, released in 2024, is an integrated amplifier rated at 80 watts per channel. It’s designed to deliver a clean, controlled presentation across both digital and analog sources, whether you’re streaming high resolution audio or spinning vinyl through an external phono stage.
The CXA81 Mk II balances output and refinement with the neutral, open character the CX Series is known for, making it a flexible centerpiece for a wide range of two channel systems without leaning too warm or overly analytical.
CXA81 MK II Feature Highlights
Amplifier Type:Class A/B design for a balance of efficiency and linear performance
Power Output: 80 watts per channel, providing sufficient current for a wide range of loudspeakers
DAC: ESS ES9018K2M SABRE32 for high-resolution digital-to-analog conversion
Digital Inputs: TOSLINK (optical), coaxial, and USB Audio
Analog Inputs: Single-ended RCA and balanced XLR connections
Bluetooth: Version 4.2 with A2DP/AVRCP support, including aptX HD (up to 24-bit/48 kHz)
The current version of the CXC was released in 2023. It’s designed for listeners who still value their CD collections and want to extract the best possible performance from those 5-inch discs. By focusing strictly on digital transport duties, Cambridge Audio has stripped away anything that doesn’t serve accurate data retrieval and timing.
The result is a purpose-built CD transport engineered for precise disc reading and low-jitter digital output, delivering a cleaner, more consistent signal to an external DAC without unnecessary processing getting in the way.
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CXC Feature Highlights
Custom S3 Servo Drive: Designed for accurate disc tracking and data retrieval with reduced read errors.
Disc Compatibility: Supports Red Book CD (CD-DA), CD-R, and CD-RW formats.
Digital Outputs: Includes both coaxial and optical outputs for connection to an external DAC.
Gapless Playback: Enables seamless transitions between tracks, ideal for live recordings and continuous mixes without added silence.
Acoustically Dampened Chassis: Helps reduce vibration and isolate internal components for more consistent performance.
Completing the system is the new CXN100 SE, available in both the matching Limited Edition Black finish and standard Lunar Grey. An evolution of the CXN100, it runs on Cambridge Audio’s StreamMagic Gen 4 platform (iOS and Android) and adds HDMI eARC for direct TV integration.
The CXN100 SE is designed to handle both high resolution music streaming and TV audio within the same system, bringing broader connectivity into the CX ecosystem without changing the core signal path or overall sonic character.
CXN100 SE Feature Highlights
HDMI eARC (and ARC): Enables the CXN100 SE to receive digital audio directly from a TV, including sound from built-in apps and connected devices. Audio is then routed through the system just like any other source.
StreamMagic Platform: Uses Cambridge Audio’s 4th generation StreamMagic system for app control, settings, and access to streaming services on iOS and Android.
Streaming Support: Includes Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz Connect, Amazon Music, Deezer, and internet radio. Also supports Roon Ready, AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Bluetooth, and MQA playback.
Wired Connectivity: Offers USB, coaxial, and TOSLINK digital inputs, along with balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs, in addition to HDMI.
DAC:ESS ES9028Q2M SABRE32 Reference DAC for low distortion, wide dynamic range, and accurate timing.
Front Panel Display: 4.76-inch high-resolution color display showing album artwork, playback data, and optional VU-style meters for at-a-glance system feedback.
The CXA81 MK II and CXC arrive in a new matte black finish with no changes under the hood, while the CXN100 SE adds HDMI eARC and expands system flexibility for both music and TV audio. That’s the only real hardware development here.
The more meaningful shift is behind the scenes, with new North American distribution that could improve availability and dealer support. As for the hardware, it remains solid and unchanged—still no built-in phono stage, and still aimed at listeners who prefer a clean, modular system over an all-in-one solution. The black finish just makes it easier to justify leaving it out in the open.
Price & Availability
Cambridge Audio CX Black series will be available from April 2026, but can be ordered now at the following prices:
From principal systems engineer and senior engineer to QA engineer and support engineer, there are plenty of opportunities open to skilled professionals in the engineering space.
Are you a student or professional with qualifications in engineering, who is also looking for a new job or career opportunity? If so, then you are in luck, as SiliconRepublic.com pays particular attention to the subject in March, leading us to compile an up to date list of some of the most interesting engineering job vacancies currently on offer in Ireland.
Aecom
US multinational infrastructure consulting firm Aecom has offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway. For Dublin-based professionals there are opportunities in project engineering, senior civil design engineering, associate director for mechanical engineering and manager for senior rail engineering. The team in Cork is looking to recruit a principal engineer for development infrastructure and a senior civil reservoir engineer. Out west, in Galway there are similar roles.
Amgen
Pharmaceutical company Amgen is looking to hire additional expertise to its Dun Laoghaire facility. Currently there is a role open for an associate tech engineer. The job will be on-site and the successful candidate will report to the utilities supervisor and to project managers. Responsibilities will include the execution and management of planned and unplanned works using the resources available. These responsibilities are primarily focused on the technical support of the site’s capital project portfolio.
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There are also vacancies for a senior engineer, system owner in inspection and packaging, a senior engineer for process and equipment and a senior automation engineer in filling.
BearingPoint
Multinational business and tech consulting company BearingPoint is looking for several engineers to join the Dublin-based team. Qualified professionals should consider such roles as senior software development engineer in test, Azure cloud engineer and technical lead in senior platform engineering. There is also a Microsoft 365 consultants role that requires skill in computer engineering.
BMS
Pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has two open positions for professionals looking to work in an engineering capacity in the Dublin area. There are vacancies for a senior manager in engineering digital services and a vacancy for a manager in manufacturing support science for engineer and manufacturing projects. If you have a bachelors in engineering you would also be applicable for a senior manager role in EHSS Systems Implementation.
EXL
In August of last year, data analytics company EXL opened its new headquarters for international business in Dublin’s Docklands. The company also established a new AI Innovation Lab and announced plans for future hiring. For professionals with engineering expertise, EXL has availability in lead data engineering, senior engineering in applied AI, senior full-stack engineering and DevOps engineering, all in Dublin and in a hybrid capacity.
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Fidelity Investments
Multinational financial services firm Fidelity Investments has multiple opportunities open to engineering professionals. At the Galway location currently available titles include senior full-stack engineer, senior platform engineer, senior software engineer and principal full-stack engineer. For Dublin-based jobseekers there are also opportunities in principal site reliability engineering, senior portfolio engineering and principal systems engineering.
Gong
US artificial intelligence company Gong has its EMEA headquarters in Dublin and is currently looking to recruit an engineering manager to the team. The ideal candidate will have previous experience leading and developing a growing team, experience as a senior software engineer, a strong technical background focusing on large-scale, cloud-based web applications, proficiency in Java and related frameworks, experience with user-facing products and a degree in computer science or a similar field. Most importantly, Gong said they are looking for someone with a passion for motivating, mentoring and cultivating people.
Henkel
German multinational chemical and consumer goods company Henkel currently has two vacancies for engineers in Ireland. The Dublin facility is looking to hire a full-time manufacturing process engineer and there is also room for a full-time project engineer.
Integral Ad Science
Integral Ad Science (IAS), which makes tech for media platforms, advertisers and publishers for tracking and data optimisation, is looking to recruit two senior software engineers to its Dublin-based team. There is also room for a staff software engineer and a staff systems engineer.
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Johnson Controls
US and Irish tech and energy company Johnson Controls has several roles open to engineers. In Dublin, experts can apply for titles such as structural design engineer, senior building services engineer, mechanical design engineer, project engineer and senior mechanical design engineer, among others. In Cork there is also space for a QA engineer, as part of a 12 month contract.
Liberty IT
Liberty IT, the technology arm of the insurance company Liberty Mutual Insurance, has offices in Belfast, Dublin and Galway, all of which are looking to add to their engineering teams. There are career opportunities for professionals skilled to work as a senior software engineer, software engineer for python, senior software engineer for MLOPs and senior software engineer for Java and AWS.
MSD
Pharmaceutical multinational MSD is actively looking to recruit for several roles in engineering in Ireland. In Tipperary, there are roles open to people qualified in senior commercialisation engineering and maintenance support engineering. Also, in Meath there is a role in manufacturing shift engineering.
TCS
IT services, consulting and business solutions platform TCS has opportunities open to professionals based around a number of Irish locations. In Dublin, there are roles for a blockchain QA engineer and a Web3 blockchain infrastructure engineer. In Donegal, there are vacancies for an Amazon Connect implementation and support engineer, a mid or senior application support engineer and IT application support engineers with French or German language skills. In Cork, there is a job for a supplier quality engineer.
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Rent the Runway
US e-commerce platform Rent the Runway currently has one option suited to a qualified engineer at the Galway facility. The organisation is looking to recruit a software engineer III FS and FE.
Squarespace
Website building tool Squarespace has five opportunities on offer to job hunters with a background in engineering. Based out of the Dublin location, currently advertised roles include engineering team manager for website elements, engineering team manager for website fundamentals, software engineer for Java and CRM data, software engineering team manager for help experience and a backend staff software engineer.
Version 1
Having recently announced a new Dublin headquarters for its ‘state-of-the-art AI Studio’ and 250 local jobs, Version 1 is looking to recruit three engineers to its various teams. Open roles include senior Azure DevOps engineer, senior Microsoft Azure DevOps engineer and test engineer. All the roles are located out of the Dublin premises and are full-time.
Vertiv
Critical digital infrastructure company Vertiv has an opening for a CSA engineer and an electrical design engineer in Letterkenny, Donegal. In Burnfoot, Donegal there are also opportunities for a tech in mechanical engineering, an R&D engineer, a mechanical engineer and graduate opportunities, among others.
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Viatris
Healthcare company Viatris has room in its Dublin-based operations for a number of scientists/engineers, for device technical operations, on an 18 month fixed term contract. There are also scientist/engineer device technical operations analytical positions, also on an 18 month contract.
PwC
Professional services platform PwC is looking for five engineers to join its teams. Currently advertised positions include, AI engineer (agentic senior associate), Azure cloud engineer (AI manager, data and AI), DevOps engineer (manager), data and AI power platform engineer and a data bricks engineer (senior manager, data and AI). The roles will be part of PwC’s advisory operations and are available out of the Dublin location.
Workhuman
Irish human capital management firm Workhuman has two opportunities open to professionals looking for a new role in the engineering space. Interested applicants should consider the roles which are, systems engineer III and software engineer III. Both positions are at the Dublin location.
Yahoo
Technology company Yahoo is expanding the Yahoo and Yahoo Mail teams with vacancies for a senior software engineer, principal software apps engineer, senior software apps engineers, principal data engineer, senior backend engineer, a senior Salesforce engineer and a paranoid principles technical security engineer for product security.
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Opening Day doesn’t ask for permission. It just shows up with crisp air, misguided optimism, and 30 teams convincing themselves this is finally the year. Baseball still sells the lie better than anyone, and Hollywood has been riding shotgun on that con for decades; from Bull Durham to Moneyball, reminding us that the game is never just about the game. It’s about belief, failure, and the slow realization by mid-June that your bullpen is a crime scene.
Which brings us to audio, where this week’s more interesting question isn’t whether people are fooled by price tags and polished aluminum. It’s whether we actually hear differently with our eyes open or closed. A recent study raises that very question, and it’s a good one. Does shutting out visual input sharpen focus, improve spatial perception, or change the way we process music in a meaningful way?
Audiophiles have been treating that like gospel for years, but now science is at least poking around the edges instead of leaving the whole thing to late night forum theology. Turns out “close your eyes and listen” may not just be ritual. There might be something real going on there, which is both fascinating and mildly annoying for anyone who thought posture in the chair was the whole game.
Meanwhile, Sennheiser sits in limbo, waiting to see who picks up the tab and what kind of future they’re buying. We’ve seen this movie before; sometimes it ends with innovation, sometimes with accountants slowly draining the life out of something that used to matter. For a brand that helped define personal audio, the next move isn’t just business, it’s legacy. And those don’t always survive the handoff.
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Sennheiser HD600 Open-back Headphones
And then there’s Kaleidescape, quietly turning 25 while the rest of the industry chases streaming like it’s the only game in town. They’re still selling ownership in a world obsessed with access. Physical media without the fingerprints. No buffering, no licensing roulette, no “sorry, not available in your region.” It’s stubborn. It’s expensive. It also works.
Four stories. Same problem, different crime scenes. Opening Day is all sunshine and bad decisions waiting to happen. Sennheiser is stuck in a back room while someone else counts the money. Kaleidescape keeps selling ownership in a world hooked on rentals. And in audio, we’re finally asking whether something as simple as opening or closing your eyes changes what you actually hear.
Different games, same angle: perception isn’t clean. It’s messy, conditional, and easy to manipulate. Change the setup, change the outcome. And that gap between what you think is happening and what actually is? That’s where the bodies usually end up.
Opening Day Lies, Hollywood Truths, and the Long Season Ahead
Winter didn’t leave quietly; it got shoved out the door with a great deal of relief in 2026. One day you’re scraping ice off the windshield, the next you’re standing in sunlight that actually feels like something. Opening Day has that effect. It resets the mood whether you asked for it or not.
Up in Toronto, the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t pretending this is just another start. They’re carrying October with them; the kind of loss that sticks because it came down to feet, inches, and a stuck baseball against the Los Angeles Dodgers. That doesn’t fade over the winter. It sits there, waiting for the first pitch to give it somewhere to go.
Even if your head is still buried in the NHL standings, counting down to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you can feel the shift. Fans of the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and New Jersey Devils already know how this ends—no parade, no miracle run, just a quiet exit and a long offseason.
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Which means it might be time to start pretending you always cared about the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, or Florida Marlins. Baseball doesn’t ask questions. It just hands you a clean slate and lets you pencil in the score and avoid those texts from the boss.
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And when it does, it brings the details the other sports can’t fake. The smell of real grass. The way an open-air stadium breathes compared to an arena. I’ve played on astroturf; it’s faster, cleaner, and completely soulless. Give me dirt under my cleats and a bad hop off third any day. New hats are already here, Tigers and Blue Jays, because this is the one sport where you buy in before you know better.
It’s also the only game that Hollywood keeps coming back to. More movies than any other sport, and not by accident. Baseball understands something the others don’t: the season is long, the failure is constant, and the story always feels bigger than the box score.
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Five Baseball Movies That Still Get It Right (Even When the Game Doesn’t)
Bull Durham
This one never gets old because it doesn’t pretend baseball is clean or noble. It’s messy, repetitive, and full of people trying to hang on a little longer than they probably should. Crash Davis talking about “the church of baseball” still lands because every fan knows exactly what he means, even if they won’t admit it out loud. And “I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses…” is a speech has nothing to do with baseball and somehow everything to do with it. It works because it understands the grind, the failure, and the weird romance of a game that doesn’t love you back sometimes.
The Natural
Total myth. Completely unrealistic. Still works every single time. Roy Hobbs stepping into the light with that bat feels like something bigger than the sport, and when he says, “I just want to say… I’m sorry,” you realize this isn’t about winning. It’s about redemption, or at least the illusion of it. The final swing, the sparks, the music, it’s over the top, but baseball has always had room for legends that don’t quite make sense. Long live the War Memorial and that ball that never came back down.
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The Sandlot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0a3jkcTAe4
This is the one that sneaks up on you. You think it’s a kids’ movie until you realize it’s about memory, time, and everything you don’t get back. “You’re killing me, Smalls” became a joke, but it stuck because everyone knew a Smalls. And “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die” hits differently once you’re not a kid anymore. It works because it reminds you why you fell in love with the game before stats, contracts, and $32 beers got in the way; yes, even in the bleachers at Camden Yards, where nostalgia now comes with a receipt. And not even a decent bratwurst.
42
No nostalgia here. Just pressure and consequences. “I’m looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back” isn’t just a line—it’s the entire weight of what Jackie Robinson had to carry. The film works because it doesn’t try to make it comfortable. It shows what the game looked like when it actually mattered beyond the scoreboard, and why some players had to be more than just players in order to completely change the sport.
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And shame on those of us who haven’t shown the same respect to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. We celebrate the story when Hollywood tells it, nod along when 42 reminds us what it cost, and then go right back to ignoring where that history actually lives. If you care about baseball, really care, not just box scores and nostalgia—you owe that place a visit in Kansas City, Missouri.
Moneyball
This one shouldn’t work as well as it does. It’s mostly conversations, spreadsheets, and people arguing in rooms. But “He gets on base” became a punchline for a reason. And when Billy Beane says, “If we win with this team, we’ll have changed the game,” you know it’s not just about baseball. It’s about control, or chasing it, in a system designed to remind you that you don’t have much. It works because it strips the game down to what wins and what doesn’t and then shows you how little that guarantees. Just ask the Blue Jays about that one.
Eyes Open or Closed? Science Just Complicated Your Listening Ritual
A new study reported by the American Institute of Physics and published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America takes a flamethrower to one of audio’s oldest habits: closing your eyes to “hear better.”
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Turns out, that instinct might be working against you.
Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University tested how people detect faint sounds in noisy environments under different visual conditions—eyes closed, eyes open with nothing to look at, and then with images or video that matched the sound. The result? Closing your eyes didn’t sharpen hearing; it made it worse. Participants actually struggled more to detect faint sounds with their eyes closed, while relevant visual cues made it easier to hear what mattered.
Research participants listened for faint sounds over audio noise. They could hear those sounds much better when they could open their eyes and watch videos or even still photos matching the sounds they were trying to hear. Credit: Yu Huang
The why is where it gets interesting. Brain scans showed that closing your eyes pushes the brain into a state of aggressive filtering, which might be great for blocking noise, not so great when it also filters out the signal you’re trying to hear. In other words, your brain gets a little too confident and starts throwing out the good stuff with the bad.
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Even more telling: the biggest improvement didn’t come from just having your eyes open, it came from seeing something that matched the sound. A video synced to the audio gave the brain a target, anchoring what it should be paying attention to. That’s not just hearing—that’s multisensory teamwork.
There’s a catch, of course. In a quiet room, the old advice still holds; closing your eyes can help you focus on subtle sounds. But in the real world, where HVAC systems hum, traffic never stops, and someone is always talking, keeping your eyes open might actually give you the edge.
So now the uncomfortable part—the questions this raises:
If visual input improves hearing in noise, what exactly are we doing when we sit in a dark room trying to “critically listen”?
Are we training ourselves to hear differently…or just removing useful information?
Does a two channel system without visual cues put us at a disadvantage compared to live music or even video based playback?
And the big one—how much of what we think we hear is actually shaped by what we see, expect, or believe is happening?
For a hobby built on the idea of control and precision, this is the kind of study that messes with the narrative. Not destroys it—but definitely pokes a few holes in it.
How do you listen?
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Kaleidescape at 25: The Long Game Finally Pays Off
I’m not going to pretend this one is neutral. Seeing Kaleidescape hit 25 years actually makes me happy and a little relieved. Because there were plenty of moments where it felt like they weren’t going to make it. Wrong business model, wrong timing, too expensive, too stubborn. Pick your criticism. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry sprinted toward streaming like it was the only exit in a burning building.
And yet…here we are.
What Kaleidescape figured out early and refused to abandon, is something most people are just starting to realize: access isn’t ownership. Streaming is convenient, sure. Until your favorite film disappears. Until the bitrate collapses during the one scene that matters. Until the version you bought quietly changes because someone upstream decided it should. Kaleidescape doesn’t play that game. You get full-bitrate video, lossless audio, and a library that doesn’t vanish overnight because of licensing roulette. It’s not about convenience. It’s about control.
Kaleidescape Strato V is a 4K Movie Player
For someone like me with close to 3,800 physical films staring back at me like a second mortgage, that actually matters. The idea of consolidating even a portion of that into a system that actually respects the material? That’s not a luxury, it’s a solution. Yes, I’m fully aware I’ll have to pay again to build out a digital library on their platform. No, I’m not thrilled about it. But also…complaining about curating 1,000 of my favorite films into a system that preserves them properly feels like a first-world problem in the most literal sense. There are bigger things happening in the world than whether my copy of Double Indemnity streams in Dolby Vision at the right bitrate.
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Kaleidescape exists for people who care about movies as objects, not just content. People who want the best version, every time, without compromise or excuses. People who understand that “good enough” is usually neither.
People like “Leia” who is the real authority in the room and their logical target customer. My ultimate movie-watching partner from across the galaxy; equal parts film historian and ruthless critic. She doesn’t care about specs, marketing, or what some influencer said last week. She knows what holds up and what doesn’t. Her taste in cinema would embarrass most critics, and frankly, most of you. Also better taste in shoes, food, and furniture. Not even close. Golden hair that would make Michelle Pfeiffer reconsider everything, pack it in, stay in Montana, and quietly dunk her head in the Madison like she just lost an argument she didn’t know she was having with Kurt.
Kaleidescape makes sense for people like that. People who don’t want to hunt for a film across five apps or settle for whatever version happens to be available that night. It’s a system built for commitment—to the medium, to the experience, and to the idea that some things are worth doing right the first time.
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Twenty-five years later, that doesn’t look stubborn anymore. It looks like they were right.
Sennheiser’s Future Is for Sale and Nobody Should Feel Comfortable About That
Earlier this week, I wrote that this wasn’t a shutdown, it’s an exit. And that distinction matters. Sennheiser isn’t disappearing tomorrow, but its consumer division is officially back on the market as Sonova refocuses on what it actually understands: hearing aids and medical tech.
Sennheiser HD 414 Headphones (circa 1968)
This is the second ownership shakeup in just a few years, and that’s not exactly how you build confidence in a brand that’s supposed to represent stability, engineering, and long term thinking. Sonova bought the business in 2022, decided it didn’t fit, and now wants out. That’s not strategy, that’s a reset button with consequences.
And then there was CanJam NYC 2026. I’ve seen Sennheiser booths for decades. They’re usually tight, focused, and intentional. This one felt scattered. Disorganized. Like nobody was fully in charge of the narrative. For a legacy brand that helped define the category, that should never happen, especially not at the one show where personal audio is the entire conversation.
Looking at it now, Axel Grell walking away and launching his own thing feels less like a side project and more like the right move at exactly the right time. If you’ve been paying attention to how fast the headphone and IEM world is moving in 2026, new players, faster cycles, more aggressive pricing, Sennheiser hasn’t exactly been leading that charge. And in this category, standing still is just a slower way of falling behind.
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Axel Grell at CanJam SoCal 2023 previewing prototype OAE1 headphone.
If Sennheiser doesn’t survive this intact, it’s not just another brand disappearing. It’s one of the pillars. The HD 600 series alone carries more weight than entire product lines from other companies. Losing that kind of legacy would hit the industry harder than people want to admit.
But let’s be honest, this wouldn’t be the first time a legacy brand failed to adapt to a market that stopped waiting for it. And it won’t be the last.
So now we wait. Strategic buyer? Tech giant? Private equity with a spreadsheet and a stopwatch?
Or someone who actually understands why this brand mattered in the first place.
Because if this ends with the wrong owner, don’t call it evolution. Call it what it is: ordentlich vermasselt.
Netflix has quietly hiked its prices once again. The streaming giant’s most affordable, ad-supported tier now costs $8.99 per month, up from the previous $7.99 monthly subscription fee, Netflix confirmed to TechCrunch in an email.
The standard plan without ads also now costs $19.99 per month, a $2 increase from the previous $17.99 subscription fee, while the premium plan is also going up by $2 and will now cost $26.99 per month.
It’s also getting more expensive to add extra viewers outside of your household. To add a user to an ad-supported plan, it now costs $6.99 instead of $7.99. If you’re adding an extra viewer to an ad-free plan, it now costs $9.99 as opposed to $8.99.
The company told TechCrunch that the changes are designed to reflect improvements to its “wide range of entertainment” and the quality of its service.
Netflix says new members who sign up will see the new plan prices from March 26, while existing subscribers will see the updated prices roll out over the coming months. Existing members will be notified by email a month before the new prices are applied to them.
Netflix last raised prices in January 2025. Since then, the company has updated its platform with a series of new additions, including the rollout of video podcasts as well as more livestreaming content. The company also recently announced plans to revamp its mobile app and expand its short-form video feature.
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San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026
The new increases come as Netflix last month backed out of a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
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Warner Bros. Discovery had announced that Paramount Skydance’s offer of $31 a share was a “superior proposal” and had given Netflix four business days to counter. Netflix then said it would not raise its $82.7 billion all-cash bid for the studio, ultimately walking away from the deal.
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