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2025-12-06 02:05:36

Looking to switch music streaming platforms for no real reason? Apple Music is holding one heck of a sale right now. You can get three months of use for just $1. There are some caveats, as this is only for new users on the individual plan. Students and family plans don't count for this.

Also, this has to be redeemed on iPhone, iPad or Mac. When you click the link it'll open up the Apple Music app, so click it from an Apple product to get the deal. Finally, it auto-renews after 90 days at $11 per month. Make sure to cancel ahead of time if you aren't enjoying the service.

As for Apple Music, it's one of the best music streaming platforms out there and certainly a perfect choice for those already tied to the Apple ecosystem. It lets you import your own files, which is great for anyone still hanging on to an iTunes library. Otherwise, it offers streaming access to millions upon millions songs like all the rest. It does, however, include some live radio stations staffed by actual people, which is cool.

The app works with Android devices, but it's really designed for Apple products. We also found the spatial audio to sound unnatural at times, but that's partly a limitation of the tech.

Check out our coverage of the best streaming deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

2025-12-06 01:45:08

IMAX and animation distributor GKids are bringing more 4K Studio Ghibli restorations to the largest screens in 2026. The announcement follows the IMAX release of Princess Mononoke this year, with the ongoing restorations being directly supervised by Studio Ghibli’s Atsushi Okui, who’s been with the company since 1993.

Okui was the Director of Digital Imaging on 2023’s The Boy and the Heron, which was also the first Ghibli picture to get the IMAX treatment. The likes of My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away have also had theatrical re-releases in recent years. GKids heads up distribution in North America for the Japanese animation giant’s films across all platforms, and has been working with IMAX on various projects since 2021.

It sounds like the remaining Ghibli titles set for theatrical IMAX releases in the US will arrive one at a time, and GKids is not saying how many we can expect, or what it’s following Princess Mononoke with next year. I did a quick check for notable upcoming anniversaries, and 2026 does mark 40 years of Castle in the Sky, but one of the studio’s newer films might be a more obvious guess for a 4K refurb. Time will tell.

2025-12-06 01:35:00

You know what they say: If at first you don't succeed at mass government surveillance, try, try again. Only two days after India backpedaled on its plan to force smartphone makers to preinstall a state-run "cybersecurity" app, Reuters reports that the country is back at it. It’s said to be considering a telecom industry proposal with another draconian requirement. This one would require smartphone makers to enable always-on satellite-based location tracking (Assisted GPS).

The measure would require location services to remain on at all times, with no option to switch them off. The telecom industry also wants phone makers to disable notifications that alert users when their carriers have accessed their location. According to Reuters, India's home ministry was set to meet with smartphone industry executives on Friday, but the meeting was postponed.

RAFIQ MAQBOOL via Getty Images

Predictably, proponents claim the plan is about helping law enforcement keep you safe from the bad guys. (See also: Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.) The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long been concerned that law enforcement agencies can’t obtain precise enough locations during investigations. Cell tower data alone can be off by several meters. And hey, what's the privacy of 1.4 billion people next to tracking criminals with an extra 10 ft. or so of accuracy, right?

Apple, Google and Samsung are said to oppose the move and have urged the Modi government to reject it. The lobbying group India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), which represents them, reportedly wrote in a confidential letter this summer that the proposal has no precedent anywhere in the world. The group's letter described the measure as a "regulatory overreach," which is probably putting it mildly. They warned that it could compromise military personnel, judges, corporate executives and journalists.

In a statement sent to Engadget, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sounded the alarm on the proposal. "Requiring phones to have A-GPS enabled all the time would be a horrifying decision by the Indian government with significant impacts on the privacy of everyone in the country,” EFF Senior Staff Technologist Cooper Quintin said. “With this change, the phone company and law enforcement get your exact location at any time, potentially even without legal due process."

2025-12-06 01:10:33

Philo has a decent discount for newcomers who are looking for a solid bundle of live TV channels and on-demand streaming services. New subscribers can get their first month of access to the Core plan for $25. That's a discount of $8.

For your 25 bucks, you'll gain access to more than 70 channels, including AMC, BBC America, Comedy Central, Food Network, Hallmark Channel, several MTV stations, Nickelodeon and TLC. AMC+, HBO Max basic with ads and Discovery+ are included at no extra cost.

Philo is our pick for the best cheap live TV streaming service. Having unlimited DVR is welcome and recordings expire after one year, which is three months longer than many competing platforms. There's no contract either, so you can cancel at any time.

The platform also offers more than 110 free channels, but unfortunately there are no local channels and there's not much in the way of sports programming. Other notable channels, such as Bravo and Freeform are missing too. However, if the lineup of channels and streaming services covers all your needs, Philo is a solid streaming option, especially with the discount.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

2025-12-06 01:00:35

We generally think iPads are the best tablets for most people, but they usually don’t come cheap. To help those looking to grab one today get the most value possible, we’re keeping an eye on sale prices and rounding up the best iPad deals we can find each week.

Hopefully you were able to snag whatever iPad you’ve been eyeing at some point in the last couple of weeks, as most of the all-time lows we saw during Black Friday and Cyber Monday have expired. If you were late to the party, though, there are still some savings to be had, including $100 off both iPad Air models and an all-time low for the 13-inch iPad Pro. Beyond tablets, other Apple devices like the AirPods 4 with ANC, Apple Watch SE 3 and Apple Pencil Pro are still on sale at their Black Friday prices. Here are all of the top deals on Apple gear we could find this week.

Best iPad deals

Apple iPad Air (13-inch, M3) for $699 ($100 off MSRP): The 13-inch iPad Air is exactly the same as its smaller counterpart, only it has a larger and slightly brighter display. We gave it a review score of 89 earlier this year. This deal is $50 above the discount we saw on Black Friday but still $100 cheaper than buying from Apple directly. Also at B&H.

Apple iPad Pro (11-inch, M5) for $927 ($72 off): The latest iPad Pro is still far more tablet than most people need, but its class-leading OLED display, impressively thin design and super-powerful M5 chip make it a luxury experience for those who can afford it. This 11-inch model sold for $899 during Black Friday, but the device was only released in October, so any sort of savings is still noteworthy. Also at Best Buy for $949.

Apple iPad Pro (13-inch, M5) for $1,199 ($100 off): It’s not a massive discount, but this matches the lowest price so far for the larger iPad Pro, which may be worthwhile if you’ve got cash to burn and want to use an iPad as your main computer. We gave it a score of 85 in our review. Also at B&H.

Best Apple deals

Apple Watch SE 3 for $199 ($50 off): This discount has been around for a few weeks, but it’s the lowest price to date for Apple’s newest entry-level smartwatch. We gave this device a score of 90 in our review last month: The big upgrade is an always-on display, which makes it so you no longer have to wake the watch to check the time or notifications. It still includes most of the essential health and fitness features beyond that, plus it now runs on the same chipset as the higher-end Apple Watch Series 11. Also at Walmart.

Apple Watch Series 11 for $329 ($70 off): The SE 3 may be a better raw value, but the Apple Watch Series 11 remains our preferred smartwatch overall for iPhone owners. Compared to its cheaper sibling, it has a bigger, brighter and more scratch-resistant display, longer battery life and a few advanced health features like an ECG app and hypertension alerts. It also earned a score of 90 in our review. This is an all-time low for the standard 42mm model, but keep in mind that there’s no pressing need to upgrade if you already own a Series 10. Also at Walmart.

Apple Pencil Pro for $95 ($34 off): The Pencil Pro is Apple’s most feature-rich stylus, offering pressure sensitivity, wireless charging, haptic feedback and unique gesture controls compared to the standard USB-C model (which isn’t significantly discounted). Just note that it’s not compatible with the entry-level iPad and other older models. While this discount is only $5 below the device’s usual street price, it’s still the largest discount we’ve seen this year. Also at Walmart.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) for $1,349 ($250 off): The newest MacBook Pro is the “best high-end” pick in our laptop buying guide and a fine choice for creative types who need something more powerful than the MacBook Air. The latter is still a much better value for most people, but the Pro gets you a superior mini-LED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, more ports and improved performance, especially with GPU-intensive tasks. It can even hold its own with certain games, though it’s noticeably thicker and heavier than the Air. We gave it a score of 92 in our review. This deal matches the lowest price to date for a configuration with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Also at Walmart.

Apple Mac mini (M4) for $679 ($100 off): The latest iteration of Apple’s tiny desktop PC has a smaller footprint, a faster M4 chip, 16GB of RAM by default, two front-facing USB-C ports and an extra Thunderbolt 4 port. It can also drive three external displays, though it lacks USB-A ports entirely. We gave a higher-end model with Apple’s M4 Pro chip a score of 90 in our review. This deal marks the lowest price we could find for a configuration with the base M4 chip, 24GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

Read more Apple coverage:

• The best AirPods

• The best Apple Watches

• The best MacBooks

• The best iPhones

• The best iPads

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

2025-12-06 00:34:04

Meta has cut several deals with news publishers to help provide real-time data for its AI chatbot services, as reported by Axios. The commercial agreements will allow its Meta AI chatbots to better answer user queries about news and current events.

These are multiyear deals where publishers will be compensated for the use of their content, but we don't have any monetary specifics. The contracts do stipulate that Meta's chatbots will link out to articles when answering news queries, potentially offering a slight traffic boost to publishers.

The news partners include USA Today, People, Le Monde and CNN. However, there are also a whole lot of conservative outlets included in today's announcement, such as Fox News, The Daily Caller and Washington Examiner. It's a good thing Meta's AI will provide the aforementioned links, just in case a chatbot says something crazy about whatever nonsense culture war topic is going on that day.

Meta has announced that this is just a first step and that it will be adding more news partners to cover more topics in the future. This is an interesting move because Meta has long-been averse to paying news companies for access to content. It stopped paying US publishers for access to news in 2022 and the Facebook news tab went away entirely last year.