Author: Eternity Lab

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On March 24, 2026, Apple released iOS 26.4 with more emojis, new Apple Music features, a better video experience on Apple Podcasts, and a host of bug fixes. However, did you know that you can now use the Control Center song recognition feature without an internet connection or that adult members of a Family Sharing group can use different payment methods for making purchases?

These hidden features are also part of what makes iOS 26.4 such a significant update. While we still wait for Apple to introduce the revamped Siri for iPhone users, which will ultimately let the personal assistant tap into personal information, perform tasks on the iPhone on your behalf, and even work as a ChatGPT-like assistant, there’s plenty to discover right now.

The latest software update includes a number of new features you didn’t know you needed, like a redesign to the Wallpaper and Watch Face galleries. In fact, there are at least 7 hidden iOS 26.4 features we didn’t cover in our initial article that are now available for iPhone users, and they might make a big difference in your daily routine.

iOS 26.4 is full of under-the-hood improvements

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One interesting iOS 26.4 hidden feature that many users might never notice on their own is that the song recognition button on the Control Center can now identify songs even when you don’t have an internet connection. The iPhone will record that piece of music, and once you’re back online, it will identify the song and the artist who performed it.

The second biggest change for those who share subscriptions with family members is that adults in a Family Sharing group can now use different payment methods for purchases. As a result, the account holder doesn’t need to pay for everything anymore, and members don’t need to ask the organizer for permission to use their card on file.

This isn’t the only change for Apple Accounts. After changing the Apple ID branding to Apple Account with the release of iOS 18, Apple has finally unified its design across different services. For example, whether you’re checking your account on the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts, or other company’s services, you’ll get an unified design with your name on top, information about that service, and the ability to redeem codes, send gifts, and check other settings.

More quality-of-life features for iPhone users

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If you like Apple’s Ambient Music feature, the fourth hidden iOS 26.4 feature might be your favorite of the bunch. Apple added a few new Ambient Music widgets, giving users the option to choose between sleep, wellbeing, productivity, and chill sounds.

You’ll find the fifth and sixth hidden features in Settings, where Apple now offers two Liquid Glass tweaks in Accessibility. The first one is the Reduce Motion option that further reduces the intensity of Liquid Glass animations. The other is Reduce Bright Effects. When this feature is enabled, some interface elements, like buttons, won’t flash as brightly.

Last but not least, the seventh hidden iOS 26.4 feature is a tweak to Hotspot. If you consistently use Personal Hotspot to connect to your Mac, iPad, or even your friends’ devices, you can now more easily see how much data you used. Of course, iOS 26.4 offers plenty more tweaks, features, and security updates, but these are the ones we recommend checking out first.

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Back in September 2025, OpenAI made headlines when it launched Sora 2, its next-generation AI video model, alongside a new mobile app. The company followed up with an Android launch of Sora in November, and the app garnered widespread success. However, it apparently hasn’t been successful enough, as OpenAI has announced it will shut down the Sora app, though no exact timetable was given as of this writing.

The Sora team shared the news on X, noting that they were bidding farewell to the app and thanking everyone who has created content using it. Beyond that, though, the exact details about why the app is being shut down have not been released, though the community definitely has some ideas about what might have caused it to happen this way.

Some believe the shutdown could be tied to OpenAI’s plans to turn the company into a potential IPO, something we have seen numerous reports about in the past few weeks. Others believe it’s simply that Sora just costs too much and OpenAI is running out of money. Both are reasonable reasons to shutter the app, especially if reports that OpenAI could be spending upwards of $15 million per day on Sora are anything to go by. Either way, the decision to shutter Sora has also led to the death of Disney and OpenAI’s potential deal, which sought to bring Disney characters to the AI video model.

Reactions are mixed

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As far as reactions go, they’ve been pretty mixed across the board. Some users on X posted as if Grok — the AI model available on X — had somehow been the reason for its death. Others rejoiced that there might be less AI slop in the world, though considering how much AI ‘slop’ is being used to promote phones and other devices, those celebrations are likely short-lived. There were also users who seemed upset by the move, responding to the Sora team on X and asking if they knew what they were throwing away and asking if the company planned to open source its code.

Exactly what effect this will have on the Sora model as a whole is still unclear. Right now, the post on X only mentions that the Sora app is going away, and that more details about the app, API, and how you can preserve the content you might have made within the Sora app are expected to be released in the coming days or weeks. Unfortunately, without much more information to go off, the exact outcome of Sora’s future is a bit of a mystery. Considering just how good the AI video model can be, though, it is unlikely OpenAI will scrap it altogether. Information from insiders actually shows that it could be integrated directly into ChatGPT sometime in the future, a move we’ve been hearing about since last year.

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After a long winter, Major League Baseball is back. The first game of the season will air on Netflix (New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants) at 8:05 pm ET on Wednesday, March 25 (aka Opening Night). On Thursday, March 26 – MLB’s official Opening Day – 22 teams will play and all games will stream on NBC and Peacock. The other 8 teams will play on Friday, including the Yankees and Giants again. Two of those games will air on Apple TV.

If you’d like to catch every game of the season, you’ll need to sign up for a few streaming services and have access to live TV. Sadly, where exactly to stream an MLB broadcast on a given day is about as clear as the mud after a rained-out game. While there is a concept of a schedule, there are many exceptions, special deals, and broadcast conflicts to contend with. We have the basics here, but we recommend checking MLB’s website for specific games.

Where to watch your favorite MLB team’s games

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If you live near your favorite team’s stadium, you’ll be dealing with in-market games, which should be easy to find. Depending on the night of the week, you’ll be able to watch the game on the teams’ home network. For example, the Mets (my favorite team, sob) have SNY, while the Yankees have YES Network and the Gotham Sports app. If you don’t live near your team, you’ll need access to out-of-market games, which are available with an MLB.TV subscription. No matter where you live, you can’t stream every game on just one service, as you’ll have to contend with local and national broadcast blackouts.

If you don’t live near your team, you can get an MLB.TV subscription that gives you access to out-of-market games, but blackouts will apply for local games. For example, if you live in Los Angeles and you’re a Yankees fan, you’ll be able to watch most Yankees games, except for when they’re in town to play the Dodgers (your home team). But you’ll be able to see home games on your local channels, because you’re in-market. Cable subscribers can save money by adding the MLB Extra Innings package, which includes out-of-market games and access to MLB.TV for streaming.

Outside of local networks and MLB.TV, some MLB broadcasts and streams are available on Apple TV, Fox, ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and TBS throughout the year. Fubo will also have some broadcasts. For regular-season games, the broadcast schedule is as follows: TBS on Tuesdays; Apple TV on Friday nights; Fox on Saturday nights; Peacock on Sunday morning starting May 3; and NBC on Sunday nights. However, if there’s a conflict with NBA or NFL games on NBC, the games will stream on Peacock. ESPN will air 30 games in the regular season as well.

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Things are about to change a lot for consumers looking to purchase an internet router in the United States. That’s because just this week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an update to the “Covered Equipment or Services” list, which includes all the currently banned equipment that can be purchased in the United States. The addition to this list now includes all consumer-grade “routers produced in a foreign country.” Exactly what routers this includes isn’t ever specified, so even if the company is based in the United States, if its production is handled outside of U.S. borders, then its products will no longer be purchasable by Americans throughout the country.

The move is part of an ongoing plan by the U.S. government to attempt to control the inclusion of foreign goods, especially electronics, within the United States. Just last year, the FCC moved to ban a popular drone company from selling new products in the U.S. That’s also not to mention that several years ago, a popular overseas electronics company, Huawei, was also banned from selling its products in the U.S. after being added to the Cover List.

But with the FCC banning all “foreign” routers, what exactly does that mean? Well, for starters, it means any router made outside of the U.S. that is not already on sale will not be released in the U.S. There is a way around this, as things on the Cover List can obtain what the FCC calls “Conditional Approval,” which basically requires the company to be vouched to not be a national security risk.

The risk to national security is key here

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Which brings us to the entire reason that this massive ban is being put in place: national security. In recent years, we’ve seen a number of large-scale cybersecurity attacks like the Volt Typhoon attack, which the FCC says was only possible thanks to key vulnerabilities within the infrastructure used by the Massachusetts’ Littleton Electric Light and Water Department’s operational technology network. The vulnerabilities allowed the threat group — which is believed to have ties to China — to access the network for ten months back in 2023.

That kind of access can be devastating, too, giving the threat group unbridled access to information and controls that they shouldn’t have access to. It seems the FCC is looking to cut off the possibility of consumer-grade technology being utilized in a similar method by cutting it off at the knees. By banning any devices that could possibly include these vulnerabilities, the agency hopes to maintain a bit more control over how Americans are being exposed to cybersecurity threats — at least that is how the FCC seems to be billing the change at this time.

How it affects your current router

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On top of the additional security that this is meant to add, it also means that the FCC ban will greatly change what kind of new routers are available to purchase by Americans. That’s because Reuters estimates that roughly 60% of the current consumer-grade routers sold in the United States are manufactured in China before being imported. That means that those companies — including heavy hitters like Google and Netgear — will need to move production to the U.S. if they want to continue offering new devices in stores.

The good news, however, is that this FCC ban doesn’t affect your current router in any way. So, if you’ve just recently purchased one of the best routers on the market, or have one that falls under a company related to the ban, then you’re still good to keep using it. You just shouldn’t expect future routers from those companies to be available in the United States without some major changes to how they manufacture and produce them.

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Following a Bloomberg report that Apple could be ready to introduce ads to its Maps service, the company revealed today that ads are coming to Apple Maps this summer in the U.S. and Canada. Still, while this “feature” hasn’t even been officially out yet, Apple Maps users have taken to social media to show their discontent regarding it.

“Apple putting ads in Maps makes me laugh. Search for ‘coffee’ and the top result is whoever paid the most to be there,” wrote a user on X. “The company worth $3.7T apparently needs more money from you looking for a flat white.” Another user wonders: “Imagine you are driving using Apple Maps to navigate and an ad pops up and stays for more than a minute and you miss taking the turn or a flyover.”

This announcement comes just a few days after Google revealed a complete revamp of its Maps experience, which is not only better for drivers to get to their destination quicker, but also offers special suggestions, based on Gemini, when you want to find a new coffee shop, plan a trip, or even book a reservation for dinner with your friends.

Here’s what ads on Apple Maps will look like

Ads on Apple Maps are part of the new Apple Business platform for businesses of all sizes. It combines mobile device management, business email, calendar services, and the ability to manage ads. Just like on the App Store, Apple Maps will start to offer, as soon as this summer, for business accounts to create ads on Maps.

The company says ads will appear at the top of search results for U.S. and Canada users based on relevance, in addition to a new “Suggested Places” tab, which will offer recommendations based on location, users’ recent searches, and more. Unlike Google, however, Apple says its ads are offered under its “privacy-first approach to advertising,” which means the user’s location and ads they interact with aren’t associated with their Apple Account, and their personal data never leaves the device, as neither Apple nor third-party vendors can collect that information. Besides that, the company says that minors under 13 years of age won’t get ads, and this new push won’t interfere in routes or general recommendations.

Before ads on Apple Maps go live, the company says that Apple Business members will need to claim their location on Maps starting this April, and then they will be able to automatically create ads through the platform.

Apple wants to increase revenue through ads

While the company already has $100 billion in revenue for services, it’s generating around $8.5 billion for ads, according to Emarketer. With yet another push to that segment, the company will get even more money, as ads will be available not only in several parts of the App Store, but on Apple Podcasts, Apple TV under the Major League Soccer subscription package, and now Apple Maps. Bloomberg says that Apple wants to sell more ads inside its News app as well.

Besides that push, the company announced it’s phasing out Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect once it launches the new Business platform. The company says those on the Connect experience will have their claimed locations, place card information, photos, organization information, and more automatically migrated to the new Apple Business experience. The service will be free to new and existing users of the previous platforms, and it’s unclear when the company might roll out ads in Apple Maps to other locations besides the U.S. and Canada.

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After a month of beta testing, Apple is finally releasing iOS 26.4 to iPhone users. Alongside this update, the company is making iPadOS 26.4, macOS Tahoe 26.4, watchOS 26.4, tvOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4 available to the public.

Some of the most notable features of this update include improvements to Apple Music and Apple Podcasts and the addition of eight new emojis. However, there’s plenty more in iOS 26.4 beyond these additions the wait for the long-rumored Siri powered by Gemini models continues.

During the beta cycle of iOS 26.4, Apple started to test end-to-end encryption for RCS messages, but this functionality won’t ship with the final version, which means users will have to wait a bit longer for improved communication between iOS and Android over text. Besides that, with iOS 26.3, the company also tested forwarding notifications from the iPhone to a third-party smartwatch, which is going to be exclusive to European users, but it seems the company will push this feature to an upcoming software release as well — most likely iOS 26.5.

Apple Music adds five new features

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The biggest update to Apple Music in the iOS 26 update cycle comes in iOS 26.4. Once users update to this version, they will discover that albums and playlists have a new look, as Apple brings full-screen artwork to our screens. Besides that, a new Upcoming Concerts tab lets you find upcoming shows from your favorite artists with links to buy tickets. Apple prioritizes your favorite artists, but it’s also possible to discover similar artists in this section as well.

Apple Music also brings a redesigned Profile section, which makes it a lot more convenient to manage your subscription, redeem a code, and simply access your Apple Music Profile. Another new feature is the ability to add a song to more than one playlist at a time, which should cut down on the number of times you’re tapping on your screen to bolster your playlists.

However, the biggest new feature — currently limited to U.S. users — is Playlist Playground. Powered by Apple Intelligence, you can use prompts in Apple Music to have the service create a playlist for you. Even though it’s still in beta, this is a superior integration over Apple Music with ChatGPT, as if you use Apple Intelligence, it can tap into your listening history and make more relevant suggestions, while ChatGPT doesn’t have that information available, and it usually insists on picking the weirdest album versions of songs you listen to constantly.

Apple Podcasts embraces video

Early in February, Apple announced that Apple Podcasts would get an improved video podcast experience with the company’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology. This will head to better video quality for viewers, while also making sure creators can create new monetization opportunities. With iOS 26.4, users can switch between watching and listening to podcasts with ease. Users can download video episodes to watch later, and Apple says its HLS standard offers smooth playback regardless of whether viewers are on Wi-Fi or using a cellular connection.

For content creators, they can use platforms like Cast, ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio, SiriusXM, AdsWizz, and Simplecast to upload their HLS videos. They can also insert video ads wherever they want, and Apple says that once creators start to use this new format, everything will integrate with their current shows without impacting followers or downloads.

Apple says HLS video technology is available in more than 170 countries and regions, and users will see other features from the Podcasts app make their way to the video side, like Enhance Dialogue, changing playback speeds from 0.5x to 3x, automatically creating chapters, timed links, automatic transcripts, and more. This feature is available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro users running the latest software updates.

New emojis

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As in previous x.4 updates, iOS 26.4 brings eight new emojis, including a gender neutral option for the ballet dancer, and skin tone modifiers for people wrestling and dancers with bunny ears. They were first introduced last year by the Unicode Consortium, and they’re finally making their way to the iPhone with this new software.

The new emojis include distorted face, fight cloud, ballet dancer, orca, hairy creature, trombone, landslide, and a treasure chest. While these are all fun  additions, Unicode has been lowering the number of emojis it introduces each year. For example, iOS 18.4 and iOS 17.4 had fewer than 10 new emojis each, and the last time we saw a significant number of emojis introduced at once was as part of iOS 16.4, which introduced over 30 new figures.

Even though Apple has been touting the ability for users to create their own emojis with Genmoji — and other social media platforms, like WhatsApp, bet big on stickers — emojis remain the most common way for users to express themselves. We’re willing to take a guess that the distorted face will likely be the most popular of this generation. Once users update to iOS 26.4, they will be able to find these emojis on the emoji tab on the keyboard, and they can use the descriptions above to find these new figures.

Stolen Device Protection is now always on

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Stolen Device Protection isn’t a new feature. Available since iOS 17.3, this feature was a response to a particular iPhone theft technique, where thieves would steal the lock screen passcode of an iPhone owner to get access to their device and either erase everything to resell it or try to get access to more sensitive information.

With Stolen Device Protection, Apple delays the ability of anyone to reset the password or erase the phone for an hour if they are in an unknown location, meaning that if you’re at home, you can easily erase your device or change its password, but if you try in a different city or region, it will require you to authenticate with the same password again in an hour. While very useful, Stolen Device Protection has always been an opt-in feature. However, iOS 26.4 turns it on by default, meaning that once you update your device, Stolen Device Protection will be enabled. If you don’t want it, you need to go to Settings to turn it off.

While we do hope Apple comes up with new protection features, like the privacy display Samsung added to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, this is yet another layer of protection for iPhone users. That’s on top of other useful features, like the ability to lock every app with Face ID or hide them in a Hidden Folder.

Apple Health improvements

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Last but not least, iOS 26.4 adds two tweaks to the Apple Health app. Even though the company has reportedly scrapped its long-rumored Apple Health+ service, as one of the company’s top executives said the subscription wouldn’t top what users already can get elsewhere, it doesn’t mean Apple won’t continue to improve its Health app.

With iOS 26.4, the company is bringing back Blood Oxygen data in the Vitals overview. According to MacRumors, Apple redesigned this feature last August after an ongoing legal battle with Massimo, but U.S. Apple Watch users could only see this standalone metric. Now, with iOS 26.4, it can be found in the Vitals tab, which means users can have a proper look at their Health and Sleep metrics.

Speaking of sleep tracking, Apple continues to improve this feature, as users can see a breakdown of their bedtime over the last couple of weeks. This functionality is available under a new Sleep Highlight section, and you can see a few different insights about how you’ve been sleeping compared to the previous night and beyond as well.

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We now know when we’ll get our first look at iOS 27, as Apple says it will hold its annual developer’s conference, WWDC 2026 from June 8 to June 12, 2026, with an online keynote on the first day. Alongside iOS 27, Apple is expected to reveal iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27.

Current rumors suggest the developer’s conference will focus on Apple Intelligence, as the company should share more about its plans for the all-new Siri and its partnership with Google Gemini. There’s also a chance that there will be hardware announcements, as the company is expected to announce a Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra chip in the coming months.

“WWDC is one of the most exciting times for us at Apple because it’s a chance for our incredible global developer community to come together for an electrifying week that celebrates technology, innovation, and collaboration,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s VP of Worldwide Developer Relations. “We can’t wait to see many of you online and in person for what is sure to be one of our best WWDC events yet.”

Software takes center stage at WWDC 2026

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As has been the case in recent years, the Worldwide Developers Conference is completely online, meaning that besides a select group potentially watching the pre-recorded conference at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple’s headquarters in California, everyone else will attend virtually, including the hundreds of sessions that developers will be able to watch regarding the new updates.

Recently, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that iOS 27 will be all about fixing bugs, as the company lays the groundwork for the upcoming iPhone Fold and other products. Besides that, we should expect refinements to Liquid Glass in all the operating systems, in addition to the new Apple Intelligence features.

The WWDC 2026 keynote will also mark an important moment for the Mac, as macOS 27 will only be compatible with Apple Silicon, meaning that Macs with Intel processors are being left behind. For the other operating systems, it’s unclear what the company has in store, but tvOS 27 might get a spotlight depending on the company’s schedule for new products in the home department, in addition to the possible support for Apple Intelligence on Apple TV and other devices.

Apple hints at two unreleased products

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This year’s WWDC 2026 could also give us some hints about at least two upcoming Apple products: the long-rumored iPhone Fold and the touchscreen MacBook Pro. After all, Apple will need to offer new APIs so developers can adjust or even create new apps for a foldable display, which is rumored to be 7.8 inches unfolded. Besides that, even though Liquid Glass made macOS more similar to iOS and iPadOS, it’s still made for mouse controls. If rumors turn out to be accurate, Apple might make other tweaks to allow for touch interactions, such as increasing the size of some menus, icons, and buttons.

Both of these products are expected to be announced at the end of the year. The iPhone Fold should launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models, which are expected in September, while some reports suggest that there’s still a possibility that the all-new MacBook Pro with an OLED display, M6 chips, and touchscreen capabilities might be delayed to the beginning of 2027. Whatever the case, it won’t be long before we learn more about Apple’s future software updates and even some new products, as WWDC 2026 kicks off in less than three months.

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Being able to easily share your location with others is one reason that Android’s Find Hub — which received a massive update with Android 16 — and the iPhone’s Find My network have become so popular. It makes keeping up with family and close friends extremely simple, while also giving you the ability to remove the tracking option at any time. But what if you’re meeting up with a friend that you don’t want to give access to your location all the time? Well, if you have an Android phone with Google Messages, then that is now more easily possible thanks to Google’s latest addition of real-time sharing directly in the Messages app.

Now, we’ve known this feature was coming for at least a month or so, as a previous APK teardown helped reveal that real-time location sharing had been spotted in a beta for Google Messages; however, it appears that the feature has now officially begun rolling out, with us confirming its availability on a Galaxy S25 Ultra earlier this morning. So how exactly does this new feature work? Well, it’s thankfully quite simple. Instead of having to go into Google Maps or register someone through the Find Hub on Android, you can now share your location directly in the Messages app by tapping on a few quick options.

How to share real-time location in Google Messages

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To start easily sharing your location, open the conversation that you want to share your location with. Next, tap the plus icon in the chat — it is located next to the text entry area — and then select Real-time location from the list. If you haven’t given Messages access to your location, then you’ll be prompted to do so. Once confirmed, you’ll get a quick view of the area around you, as well as an option for how long you want to share and a Send button.

To customize the duration of time you share your location, simply tap on the dropdown and then select one of the options that pop up. You can share for one hour, just that day, or even until you turn the feature off. If you only need to share for 15 to 30 minutes, then you can select the Custom duration setting and enter the time you want to share. It is worth noting that the fake phone number we put in for our screenshots does not list the Until I turn it off option; however, we did confirm its existence with a real phone number that has RCS chats enabled (RCS being the feature that helps Google Messages catch more scams).

After you confirm the location-sharing options, your location will be visible directly in Google Messages, allowing you to easily see where your friends and family are and letting them track you. And, once the timer for the duration you set runs out, it should revert to not sharing anymore, without requiring you to go in and remove the person with any additional steps.

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If you’ve been playing some of the latest Nintendo Switch 2 games, you might be disappointed when going back to some of the original Switch games that haven’t received a free Switch 2 upgrade. The original Nintendo Switch had less power to work with, and a lower resolution, leaving games looking less impressive when you go back to playing them after enjoying the boost from your Nintendo Switch 2.

Thankfully, Nintendo’s 22.0.0 update for the Switch 2 adds a new feature that will help bring original Switch titles closer to the visual fidelity you would expect to see on a Switch 2. The new update adds a brand new Handheld Mode Boost setting which unlocks performance you would usually only get from using the console when docked to your TV. Of course, with better performance and resolution, there’s a trade-off. This comes in the form of higher power consumption, with the new mode using more power to improve the quality of the image.

How Handheld Mode Boost improves performance

While the original Nintendo Switch had a 720p display in handheld mode, the Switch 2 upgraded the handheld resolution to 1080p, giving you a sharper picture. The new mode can give select original Switch titles a boost up to 1080p in handheld mode when activated. It also lets games take advantage of the console’s improved hardware, offering better all-around performance than you would get on the original Switch — and even the Switch 2, prior to the update.

The new mode isn’t enabled by default, so you will need to turn it on if you want to take advantage of the additional power. To do so, you need to head over to System Settings on your Switch 2, navigate to System, and then find Nintendo Switch Software Handling. You should see an option to turn Handheld Mode Boost on or off. As well as the new mode, the 22.0.0 update also included stability improvements, as well as new features, such as more detailed storage information and the ability to save notes about friends.

Downsides to Handheld Mode Boost

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While Handheld Mode Boost might give you some performance improvements and a nice little bump in resolution, there are some downsides to using it. The first, as already mentioned, is the hit the Nintendo Switch 2’s battery life will take. Beyond that, because the new mode forces the console into TV mode, there are other issues to bear in mind, too. Firstly, you might find that games you play with Handheld Mode Boost enabled no longer support touchscreen input, as this wouldn’t usually be enabled in handheld mode.

You’ll also find that if you’re using Joy-Con 2 controllers, they will be treated as a single Nintendo Switch 2 Pro controller, which can cause some issues if you’re trying to use in-game features that require Joy-Con 2 functionality. If you prefer, you can just use a third-party Switch 2 controller, or the official Switch 2 Pro controller; you don’t have to use Joy-Cons if you don’t want to.

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In 2023, Amazon announced some big changes to how its Prime Video service works. Instead of being ad-free content with your Prime membership, the company would show ads alongside its content while also offering an ad-free add-on for those who didn’t want to see them. While the asking price wasn’t terrible — only $2.99 a month on top of your regular Prime membership — those few bucks can certainly add up over time. And now, it seems it isn’t content to stick with that plan, as Amazon has announced that on April 10, the ad-free subscription add-on will rise from $2.99 to $4.99.

That’s more than double the current price of the feature, though a discounted annual price will also be available. Amazon says that “delivering ad-free streaming with premium features requires significant investment,” which is a big part of why it’s upping the price of its ad-free component. On top of the price hike, though, Amazon will also change the name to Prime Video Ultra.

It will also add several new features to the mix as well, including an increase in how many offline downloads you can have at one time and how many devices can stream at the same time. But the real kicker is, those who don’t upgrade to the Prime Video Ultra add-on will now miss out on Dolby Atmos support and 4K streaming.

What’s changing

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That’s right, one of the biggest changes coming to Prime Video with this new plan is the fact that regular Prime members will no longer get 4K video. Instead, you’ll need to subscribe to the $4.99 Prime Video Ultra service in order to watch movies and TV shows at a higher quality. It looks like Amazon doesn’t have any immediate plans to raise the price of Prime from $14.99 a month — though removing features is never a good feeling.

Those who do shell out the extra $4.99 a month will get access to more offline downloads, a max of 100 compared to the previous 25 (regular Prime members will only get 50). Additionally, those subscribers will also be able to stream on up to five different devices at once, which is an improvement from the previous limit of three (Prime members without Ultra will only get four concurrent streams).

Unfortunately, these price increases make perfect sense, as Amazon has slowly been working to not only offer more original content from heavy-hitting series like “Lord of the Rings” and even “James Bond,” but the company has also been investing in AI-powered features for its Prime Video service, like AI recaps for TV shows. Amazon isn’t the first streaming service to use AI, either, as Netflix used AI in a TV show back in 2025.

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