📺 Maxed out your Max: Don’t shoot the messenger, but HBO Max costs more. Again. It’s now $10.99 for ads, $18.49 standard and $22.99 premium. That’s up $1 to $2 a month for new subscribers. Everyone else gets hit next billing cycle. At this point, HBO stands for “Hold Bank Open.”
7 years
Since Costco’s last price hike. Starting this month, renewals and new customers on the Gold Star, Business and Business Add-on plans will pay $65 a year, a $5 increase. The premium Executive Membership went up $10 to $130 a year. At least hotdogs are still $1.50.
YouTube adds AI summaries: If you’re a Premium paying subscriber, you might notice a new layout. At the top, you’ll see a featured video, thumbnails and an AI description. Tap the main one to start watching.
YouTube’s family freeloader era is over, too: So you’ve been coasting on someone else’s YouTube Premium family plan for years? Well, YouTube just went full Netflix on us. Starting now, every 30 days, it’ll GPS‑scan your butt to make sure you actually live under the same roof as the account holder.
🚘 What a bunch of Grok: Tesla just shoved its chaotic AI chatbot, Grok, into new cars, and it’s coming for older ones, too. It won’t drive or blast AC (yet), but it will banter, joke, and yes, there’s an “Unhinged” mode. You need Wi-Fi or a Premium plan to chat, but no account required.
More YouTube ads incoming: I’m talking about 30-second unskippable ads on TVs. These used to be part of special deals, but now more advertisers can run them in regular campaigns. And yep, the six- and 15-second ones are still around, too. The fix? Fork over $13.99 a month for Premium.