Tech – Page 2

Google and Epic announce settlement to end app store antitrust case

app stores, epic games, Google, play store, Tech / DJ Henderson / March 4, 2026

Google is in the midst of rewriting the rules for mobile applications, spurred by ongoing legal cases and an apparent desire to clamp down on perceived security weaknesses. Late last year, Google and Epic concocted a settlement that would end the long-running antitrust dispute that stemmed from Fortnite fees. The sides have now announced an updated version of the agreement with new changes aimed at placating US courts and putting this whole mess in the rearview mirror. The gist is that Android will get more app stores, and developers will pay lower fees.

A US court ruled against Google in the case in 2023, and the remedies announced in 2024 threatened to upend Google’s Play Store model. It tried unsuccessfully to have the verdict reversed, but then Epic came to the rescue. In late 2025, the companies announced a settlement that skipped many of the court’s orders.

Epic leadership professed interest in leveling the playing field for all developers on Android’s platform. But US District Judge James Donato expressed skepticism of the settlement in January, noting that it may be a “sweetheart deal” that benefited Epic more than other developers. The specifics of the arrangement were not fully disclosed, but it included lower Play Store fees, cross-licensing, attorneys’ fees, and other partnership offers.

It’s starting to look like both companies want to wrap up this case. For Epic, this all started as a way to avoid paying Google a 30 percent cut of Fortnite purchases—the game has been banned from the Play Store this whole time. Google, meanwhile, is in the midst of a major change to Android app distribution with its developer verification program. After all these years, the end is in sight. So the new settlement includes more explicit limits on Play Store fees and resurrects one of Donato’s more far-reaching remedies.

Google’s “new era” of apps

Representatives for Epic and Google have both expressed enthusiastic support for the newly announced settlement, which is subject to Judge Donato’s approval. The parties say the agreement will resolve their dispute globally, not only in the US.

The settlement affirms that developers in the Play Store will be able to steer users to other forms of payment. This is what got Fortnite pulled from the Play Store (and Apple App Store) back in 2020. When developers choose to use Google’s billing platform, they’ll pay lower fees as well.

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MacBook Neo hands-on: Apple build quality at a substantially lower price

Apple, Apple A18 Pro, Apple silicon, Mac, macbook neo, Tech / Beth Washington / March 4, 2026

The Neo won’t be for everyone, but Apple has managed to preserve a premium feel.

Credit: Andrew Cunningham

NEW YORK CITY—Whether you’re talking about the iBook, MacBook, or MacBook Air, Apple’s most basic laptops have started at or within $100 of the $1,000 price point for over 20 years. Sure, the company had quietly been testing the waters with a Walmart-exclusive M1 MacBook Air configuration for several years, first at $699 and then at $599. But as far as what Apple would actively advertise and offer on its own site and in its own retail stores, we’ve never seen anything for substantially below $1,000.

The new MacBook Neo changes that. Apple has experimented with lower-cost products before, most notably with the $329 and $349 iPads and the old $429 iPhone SE. But this is the first time it has used that strategy for the Mac. The Neo starts at $599 for a version with 256GB of storage and no Touch ID sensor, and $699 for a version with Touch ID and 512GB of storage (each also available to educational customers for $100 less).

We had a chance to poke at a MacBook Neo for a while at Apple’s “special experience” event in New York this morning, and what I can tell you is that this does feel like an Apple laptop despite the lower starting price. It definitely has some spec sheet shortcomings, even compared to older M3 or M4 MacBook Airs that you still might be able to get at a discount from third-party retailers or Apple’s refurbished site—more on that in our full review next week. But it’s priced low enough to (1) appeal to people who might not have considered a Mac before, and (2) to make some of its borderline specs feel reasonable, and that’s enough to keep it interesting.

MacBook Air-ish

I had assumed, based on Apple’s history with its lower-end iPads and iPhones, that Apple would essentially reuse the design of the old M1 MacBook Air for this new MacBook. The Neo does share quite a few things in common with that older design, including a 13-inch notchless display, a 2.7 lb weight, and a lack of MagSafe connector. But this is actually a new design after all, one that’s more in line with the current Pro and Air iterations.

The Neo is a flat rectangular slab of aluminum with softly rounded edges, more like the current Airs and Pros than the wedge-shaped design of the old M1 Air (also like modern Airs, the words “MacBook Neo” appear nowhere on the exterior of the computer—the name only exists in stores and in software).

The low-end iPad can feel a bit cheap or hollow, partly because of the small gap between the front glass and the non-laminated LCD display underneath. But holding and interacting with the Neo feels substantially the same as interacting with an Air. It is, however, slightly thicker—an even 0.5 inches, up from 0.44 inches for the M4 Air.

The non-backlit keyboard is a bit of a bummer, although Apple has tried to keep it legible by shifting from white-on-black keycaps to darker legends on a lighter background. But the typing feel is similar to the Air, and we’re told the scissor switches have the same amount of key travel as the switches in the Air keyboards.

The multi-touch trackpad is a little weirder. It looks a lot like Apple’s other trackpads, but it actually has a physical clicking mechanism rather than the haptic feedback Apple has used in its laptop trackpads and Magic Trackpads for years. That means there’s no Force Click functionality and no controls for adjusting the firmness or noisiness of the clicking sensation.

Apple did, at least, figure out a mechanism that makes it feel the same to click anywhere on the trackpad. More traditional physical trackpads, including the ones Apple used to use, had a hinge toward the top of the trackpad that made clicking up there feel stiffer and firmer than clicking at the bottom or in the middle of the trackpad. The Neo’s trackpad doesn’t feel quite as solid, probably because of the space left to make room for a physical clicking mechanism, but, aside from the missing haptics, it seems to work just as well as Apple’s other trackpads.

The laptop’s ports may cause some confusion, for the same reason that any USB-C or Thunderbolt port can cause confusion—the ports look the same but do different things. Either of the laptop’s two USB-C ports can charge the laptop. But only the rear one supports 10 Gbps USB 3 transfer speeds, and it’s also the only one that can drive a display (one 4K screen at up to 60 Hz, down from two higher-resolution external displays for the Air). The port toward the front only supports 480 Mbps USB 2.0 transfer speeds, enough for a keyboard and many other external accessories, but not ideal for external storage.

Neither port is marked in any way, though macOS will apparently alert users if they try to plug something into the USB 2.0 port that won’t work with it.

The four colors of Neo: the pink-ish Blush, blue-tinted Indigo, yellowy Citrus, and traditional MacBook silver. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

The internal display is great for the price, though it falls a bit short of both the current Airs and the M1 Air. The 13-inch 2408×1506 IPS LCD screen is just shy of the old M1 Air’s resolution, and it supports both 500 nits of maximum brightness and full coverage of the sRGB color gamut, both relatively rare in similarly priced PCs. But it’s missing DCI-P3 wide color support and the True Tone feature that subtly adjusts the color temperature of the display based on ambient lighting, two things that were still supported by the old M1 Air.

The biggest sticking point for many buyers will be the processor, an Apple A18 Pro that first appeared in the iPhone 16 Pro.

This chip includes six CPU cores (two performance, four efficiency) and a five-core GPU, which worked just fine under casual use in the hands-on area and in our briefing. We saw it running Safari with multiple tabs open, playing a game, and running Pixelmator Pro, and it handled all three tasks well. But the higher-end apps that aren’t bottlenecked by the CPU or GPU may be bottlenecked by its 8GB of RAM instead.

We’ll do more testing in our review to figure out where people will notice the specs in the real world and where they won’t, but suffice it to say, this isn’t the best laptop to pick if you want to make the most of a Creator Studio subscription.

All in all, the MacBook Neo seems well-positioned to satisfy those whom Apple is marketing it toward. Predominantly, that seems to be iPhone users who don’t have any kind of computer yet, or people who are unhappy with their budget Windows PC or Chromebook. Apple’s product page makes a big deal about the features that work across iOS and macOS and has a dedicated “new to Mac” section that pitches the platform to people who have never used it. The biggest downside for Apple is the risk that the Neo’s 8GB RAM limit and less-powerful chip will end up frustrating people who buy a Mac hoping to use Final Cut or Logic and bump into the limits of the hardware.

Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue.

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Google Pixel 10a review: The sidegrade

Features, Google, Google Pixel, pixel 10a, Reviews, smartphones, Tech / Kelly Newman / March 4, 2026

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

The camera now sits flush with the back panel. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Google’s budget Pixels have long been a top recommendation for anyone who needs a phone with a good camera and doesn’t want to pay flagship prices. This year, Google’s A-series Pixel doesn’t see many changes, and the formula certainly isn’t different. The Pixel 10a isn’t so much a downgraded version of the Pixel 10 as it is a refresh of the Pixel 9a. In fact, it’s hardly deserving of a new name. The new Pixel gets a couple of minor screen upgrades, a flat camera bump, and boosted charging. But the hardware hasn’t evolved beyond that—there’s no PixelSnap and no camera upgrade, and it runs last year’s Tensor processor.

Even so, it’s still a pretty good phone. Anything with storage and RAM is getting more expensive in 2026, but Google has managed to keep the Pixel 10a at $500, the same price as the last few phones. It’s probably still the best $500 you can spend on an Android phone, but if you can pick up a Pixel 9a for even a few bucks cheaper, you should do that instead.

If it ain’t broke…

The phone’s silhouette doesn’t shake things up. It’s a glass slab with a flat metal frame. The display and the plastic back both sit inside the aluminum surround to give the phone good rigidity. The buttons, which are positioned on the right edge of the frame, are large, flat, and sturdy. On the opposite side is the SIM card slot—Google has thankfully kept this feature after dropping it on the flagship Pixel 10 family, but it has moved from the bottom edge. The bottom looks a bit cleaner now, with matching cut-outs housing the speaker and microphone.

Pixel 10a in hand — The Pixel 10a is what passes for a small phone now. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Traditionally, Google’s Pixel A-series always had the same Tensor chip as the matching flagship generation. So last year’s Pixel 9a had the Tensor G4, just like the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro. The Pixel 10a breaks with tradition by remaining on the G4, while the flagship Pixels advanced to Tensor G5.

Specs at a glance: Google Pixel 9a vs. Pixel 10a
Phone	Pixel 9a	Pixel 10a
SoC	Google Tensor G4	Google Tensor G4
Memory	8GB	8GB
Storage	128GB, 256GB	128GB, 256GB
Display	1080×2424 6.3″ pOLED, 60–120 Hz, Gorilla Glass 3, 2,700 nits (peak)	1080×2424 6.3″ pOLED, 60–120 Hz, Gorilla Glass 7i, 3,000 nits (peak)
Cameras	48 MP primary, f/1.7, OIS; 13 MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 13 MP selfie, f/2.2	48 MP primary, f/1.7, OIS; 13 MP ultrawide, f/2.2; 13 MP selfie, f/2.2
Software	Android 15 (at launch), 7 years of OS updates	Android 16, 7 years of OS updates
Battery	5,100 mAh, 23 W wired charging, 7.5 W wireless charging	5,100 mAh, 30 W wired charging, 10 W wireless charging
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6e, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, sub-6 GHz 5G, USB-C 3.2	Wi-Fi 6e, NFC, Bluetooth 6.0, sub-6 GHz 5G, USB-C 3.2
Measurements	154.7×73.3×8.9 mm; 185g	153.9×73×9 mm; 183g

Google’s custom Arm chips aren’t the fastest you can get, and the improvement from G4 to G5 wasn’t dramatic. The latest version is marginally faster and more efficient in CPU and GPU compute, but the NPU saw a big boost in AI throughput. So the upgrade to Tensor G5 is not a must-have (unless you love mobile AI), but the Pixel 10a doesn’t offer the same value proposition that the 9a did. Most of the other specs remain the same for 2026 as well. The base storage and RAM are still 128GB and 8GB, respectively, and it’s IP68 rated for water and dust exposure.

Camera bump comparison — The Pixel 10a (left) has a flat camera module, but the Pixel 9a camera sticks out a bit. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

This is what passes for a small phone these days. The device fits snugly in one hand, and its generously rounded corners make it pretty cozy. You can reach a large swath of the screen with one hand, and the device isn’t too heavy at 183 grams. The Pixel 10 is about the same size, but it’s much heavier at 204 g.

At 6.3 inches, the OLED screen offers the same viewable area as the 9a. However, Google says the bezels are a fraction of a millimeter slimmer. More importantly, the display has moved from the aging Gorilla Glass 3 to Gorilla Glass 7i. That’s a welcome upgrade that could help this piece of hardware live up to its lengthy software support. Google also boosted peak brightness by 11 percent to 3,000 nits. That’s the same as in the Pixel 10, but the difference won’t be obvious unless you’re looking at the 9a and 10a side by side under strong sunlight.

Pixel 10a and keyboard glamor shot — Google isn’t rocking the boat with the Pixel 10a. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

There’s an optical fingerprint scanner under the screen, which will illuminate a dark room more than you would expect. The premium Pixels have ultrasonic sensors these days, which are generally faster and more accurate. The sensor on the 10a is certainly good enough given the price tag, and with Google increasingly looking to separate the A-series from the flagships, we wouldn’t expect anything more.

The new camera module is the only major visual alteration this cycle. The sensors inside haven’t changed, but Google did manage to fully eliminate the bump. The rear cameras on this phone are now flush with the surface, a welcome departure from virtually every other smartphone. The Pixel 10a sits flat on a table and won’t rock side to side if you tap the screen. The cameras on the 9a didn’t stick out much, but shaving a few millimeters off is still an accomplishment, and the generous battery capacity has been preserved.

The Tensor tension

Google will be the first to tell you that it doesn’t tune Tensor chips to kill benchmarks. That said, the Tensor G5 did demonstrate modest double-digit improvements in our testing. You don’t get that with the Pixel 10a and its year-old Tensor G4, but the performance isn’t bad at all for a $500 phone.

Pixel phones, including this one, are generally very pleasant to use. Animations are smooth and not overly elaborate, and apps open quickly. Benchmarks can still help you understand where a device falls in the grand scheme of things, so here are some comparisons.

Google builds phones with the intention of supporting them for the long haul, but how will that work when the hardware is leveling off? Tensor might not be as fast as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips, but the architecture is much more capable than what you’d find in your average budget phone, and Google’s control of the chipset ensures it can push updates as long as it wants.

Meanwhile, 8 gigabytes of RAM might be a little skimpy in seven years, but you’re not going to see generous RAM allotments in budget phones this year—not while AI data centers are gobbling up every scrap of flash memory. Right now, though, the Pixel 10a keeps apps in memory well enough, and it’s not running as many AI models in the background compared to the flagship Pixels.

The one place you may feel the Pixel 10a lagging is in games. None of the Tensor chips are particularly good at rendering complex in-game worlds, but that’s more galling for phones that cost $1,000. A $500 Pixel 10a that’s mediocre at gaming doesn’t sting as much, and it’s really not that bad unless you insist on playing titles like Call of Duty Mobile or Genshin Impact.

You don’t buy a Pixel because it will blow the door off every game and benchmark app—you buy it because it’s fast enough that you don’t have to think about the system-on-a-chip inside. That’s the Pixel 10a with Tensor G4.

Pixel 10a from edge in hand — The Pixel 10a is fairly thin, but it has a respectable 5,100 mAh battery inside. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

The new Pixel A phone again has a respectable 5,100 mAh battery. That’s larger than every other Pixel, save for the 10 Pro XL (5,200 mAh). It’s possible to get two solid days of usage from this phone between charges, and it’s a bit speedier when you do have to plug in. Google upgraded the wired charging from 23 W in the 9a to 30 W for the 10a. Wireless charging has been increased from 7.5 W to 10 W with a compatible Qi charger. However, there are no PixelSnap magnets inside the phone, which seems a bit arbitrary—this could be another way to make the $800 Pixel 10 look like a better upgrade. We’re just annoyed that Google’s new magnetic charger doesn’t work very well with the 10a.

Some AI, lots of updates

Phones these days come with a lot of bloatware—partner apps, free-to-play games, sports tie-ins, and more. You don’t have to deal with any of that on a Pixel. There’s only one kind of bloat out of the box, and that’s Google’s. If you plan to use Google apps and services on the Google phone, you don’t have to do much customization to make the Pixel 10a tolerable. It’s a clean, completely Googley experience.

Naturally, Google’s take on Android has the most robust implementation of Material 3 Expressive, which uses wallpaper colors to theme system elements and supported apps. It looks nice and modern, and we prefer it over Apple’s Liquid Glass. The recent addition of AI-assisted icon theming also means your Pixel home screen will finally be thematically consistent.

Pixel 10a on leather background — Material 3 Expressive looks nice on Google’s phones. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

There’s much more AI on board, but it’s not the full suite of Google generative tools. As with last year’s budget Pixel, you’re missing things like Pixel Screenshots, weather summaries, and Pixel Studio—Google reserves those for the flagship phones with their more powerful Gemini Nano models. You will get Google’s AI-powered anti-spam tools, plenty of Gemini integrations, and most of the phone features, like Call Screen. If you’re not keen on Google AI, this may actually be a selling point.

One of the main reasons to buy a Pixel is the support. Pixels are guaranteed a lengthy seven years of update support, covering both monthly security patches and OS updates. You can expect the Pixel 10a to get updates through 2033.

Samsung is the only other Android device maker that offers seven years of support, but it tends to be slower in updating phones after their first year. Pixel phones get immediate updates to new security patches and even new versions of Android. If you buy anything else that isn’t an iPhone, you’ll be looking at much less support and much more waiting.

Google also consistently delivers new features via the quarterly Pixel Drops, and while a lot of that is AI, there are some useful tools and security features, too. Google doesn’t promise all phones will get the same attention in Pixel Drops, but you should see new additions for at least a few years.

Pixel camera on a budget

Google isn’t pushing the envelope with the Pixel 10a, and in some ways, the camera experience is why it can get away with that. There’s no other $500 phone with a comparable camera experience, and that’s not because the Pixel 10a is light-years ahead in hardware. The phone has fairly modest sensors in that new, flatter module, but Google’s image processing is just that good.

Pixel 10a camera — The Pixel camera experience is a big selling point. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

In 2026, Google’s budget Pixel still sports a 48 MP primary wide-angle camera, paired with a 13 MP ultrawide. There is no telephoto lens on the back, and the front-facing selfie shooter is also 13 MP. Of these cameras, only the primary lens has optical stabilization. Photos taken with all the cameras are sharp, with bright colors and consistent lighting.

Google’s image processing does a superb job of bringing out details in bright and dim areas of a frame, and Night Sight is great for situations where there just isn’t enough light for other phones to take a good photo. In middling light, the Pixel 10a maintains fast enough shutter speeds to capture movement, something both Samsung and Apple often struggle with.

Outdoor overcast. Ryan Whitwam

Pixel phones don’t have as many camera settings as a Samsung or OnePlus phone does—in fact, the 10a doesn’t even get as many manual controls as the flagship Pixels—but they’re great at quick snapshots. Within a couple of seconds, you can pop open the Pixel camera and shoot a photo that’s detailed and well-exposed without waiting on autofocus or fiddling with settings. So you’ll capture more moments with a Pixel than with other phones, which might not nail the focus or lighting even if you take a whole batch of photos with different settings.

Without a telephoto lens option, you won’t be able to push the Pixel 10a with extreme zoom levels like the more expensive Pixel 10 phones. You’re limited to 8x zoom, and things get quite blurry beyond 3-4x. Google’s image processing should be able to clean up a 2x crop well enough, but the image will look a bit artificial and over-sharpened if you look closely.

Video can be a weak point for Google. Samsung and Apple phones offer more options, and the quality of Google’s phones isn’t strong enough to make up for it. The videos look fine, but the stabilization isn’t perfect, and 4k60 can sometimes hiccup. It’s more what we’d expect from a $500 phone, whereas the 10a punches above its weight in still photography.

Running unopposed

It’s easy to be disappointed in the Pixel 10a when you look at the spec sheet. The hardware has barely evolved beyond last year’s phone, and it even has the same processor inside. This is a departure for Google, but it’s also expected given the state of the smartphone market. These are mature products, and support has gotten strong enough that you can use them for years without an upgrade. Smartphones are really becoming more like appliances than gadgets.

Pixel 10a vs. Pixel 10 — The Pixel 10 has a much larger camera module to accommodate a third sensor. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Google’s Pixel line has finally started to gain traction as smaller OEMs continue to drop out and scale back their plans in North America. Google is not alone in the mid-range—Samsung and Motorola still make a variety of Android phones in this price range, but they tend to make more compromises than the Pixel does.

The latest Google Pixel is only marginally better than the last model, featuring the same Tensor G4 processor, 8GB of RAM, and dual-camera setup. The body has modest upgrades, including a flat camera module and a slightly brighter, stronger display. We’d all like more exciting phone releases, but Google has realized it doesn’t need to be flashy to dominate the mid-range.

Pixel 10a, Pixel 10, and Pixel 10 Pro XL — The Pixel 10a (left), Pixel 10 (middle), and Pixel 10 Pro XL (right). Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Even with a less-than-impressive 2026 upgrade, Google’s A-series Pixel remains a good value, just like its predecessor. The Pixel 9a was already much better than the competition, and the 10a is slightly better than that. With no real competition to speak of, Google’s new Pixel is still worth buying.

Of course, the very similar Pixel 9a remains a good purchase, too. Google continues to sell that phone at the same price. In fact, that’s true of the Pixel 8a in Google’s store, too. So you can have your choice of the new phone, the old phone, or an even older phone for the same $500. Google is clearly not concerned with clearing old stock. We expect to see at least occasional deals on last year’s Pixel. If you can get that phone even a little cheaper than the 10a, that’s a good idea. Otherwise, get used to spending $500 on Google’s mid-range appliance.

The good

Great camera experience
Long battery life
Good version of Android with generous update guarantee
Lighter and more compact than flagship phones

The bad

Barely an upgrade from Pixel 9a
Gaming performance is iffy

Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he’s written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards.

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M5 Pro and M5 Max are surprisingly big departures from older Apple Silicon

Apple, Apple M5, apple m5 max, apple m5 pro, Apple silicon, Tech / Shannon Garcia / March 3, 2026

Apple is using more chiplets and three types of CPU cores to make the M5 family.

As part of today’s MacBook Pro update, Apple has also unveiled the M5 Pro and M5 Max, the newest members of the M5 chip family.

Normally, the Pro and Max chips take the same basic building blocks from the basic chip and just scale them up—more CPU cores, more GPU cores, and more memory bandwidth. But the M5 chips are a surprisingly large departure from past generations, both in terms of the CPU architectures they use and in how they’re packaged together.

We won’t know the impact these changes have had on performance until we have hardware in hand to test, but here are all the technical details we’ve been able to glean about the new updates and how the M5 chip family stacks up against the past few generations of Apple Silicon chips.

New Fusion Architecture and a third type of CPU core

Apple says that M5 Pro and M5 Max use an “all-new Fusion Architecture” that welds two silicon chiplets into a single processor. Apple has used this approach before, but historically only to combine two Max chips together into an Ultra.

Apple’s approach here is different—for example, the M5 Pro is not just a pair of M5 chips welded together. Rather, Apple has one chiplet handling the CPU and most of the I/O, and a second one that’s mainly for graphics, both built on the same 3nm TSMC manufacturing process.

The first silicon die is always the same, whether you get an M5 Pro or M5 Max. It includes the 18-core CPU, the 16-core Neural Engine, and controllers for the SSD, for the Thunderbolt ports, and for driving displays.

The second die is where the two chips differ; the M5 Pro gets up to 20 GPU cores, a single media encoding/decoding engine, and a memory controller with up to 307 GB/s of bandwidth. The M5 Max gets up to 40 GPU cores, a pair of media encoding/decoding engines, and a memory controller that provides up to 614 GB/s of memory bandwidth (note that everything in the GPU die seems to be doubled, implying that Apple is, in fact, sticking two M5 Pro GPUs together to make one M5 Max GPU).

Apple’s spec sheets now list three distinct types of CPU cores: “super” cores, performance cores, and efficiency cores. Credit: Apple

Apple is also introducing a third distinct type of CPU core beyond the typical “performance cores” and “efficiency cores” that were included in older M-series processors.

At the top, you have “super cores,” which is Apple’s new M5-era branding for what it used to call “performance cores.” This change is retroactive and also applies to the regular M5; Apple’s spec sheet for the M5 MacBook Pro used to refer to the big cores as “performance cores” but now calls them “super cores.”

At the bottom of the hierarchy, you still have “efficiency cores” that are tuned for low power usage. The M5 still uses six efficiency cores, and unlike the super cores, they haven’t been rebranded since yesterday. These cores do help with multi-core performance, but they prioritize lower power usage and lower temperatures first, since they need to fit in fanless devices like the iPad Pro and MacBook Air.

And now, in the middle, we have a new type of “performance core” used exclusively in the M5 Pro and M5 Max.

These are, in fact, a new, third type of CPU core design, distinct from both the super cores and the M5’s efficiency cores. They apparently use designs similar to the super cores but prioritize multi-threaded performance rather than fast single-core performance. Apple’s approach with the new performance cores sounds similar to the one AMD uses in its laptop silicon: it has larger Zen 4 and Zen 5 CPU cores, optimized for peak clock speeds and higher power usage, and smaller Zen 4c and Zen 5c cores that support the same capabilities but run slower and are optimized to use less die space.

What we don’t know yet is how these new chips perform relative to the previous versions. Technically, the M4 Pro and M4 Max both had more “big” cores than the M5 Pro and M5 Max do—up to 10 for the M4 Pro and up to 12 for the M4 Max. But higher single-core performance from the six “super cores” and strong multi-core performance from the 12 performance cores should mean that the M5 generation still shakes out to be faster overall.

How all the chips compare

For Mac buyers choosing between these three processors, we’re updating the spec tables we’ve put together in the past, comparing the M5-generation chips to one another and to their counterparts in the M2, M3, and M4 generations.

Here’s how all of the M5 chips stack up, including the partly disabled versions of each chip that Apple sells in lower-end MacBook Air and Pro models:

	CPU S/P/E-cores	GPU cores	RAM options	Display support (including internal)	Memory bandwidth	Video decode/encode engines
Apple M5 (low)	4S/6E	8	16GB	Up to three	153GB/s	One
Apple M5 (high)	4S/6E	10	16/24/32GB	Up to three	153GB/s	One
Apple M5 Pro (low)	5S/10P	16	24GB	Up to four	307GB/s	One
Apple M5 Pro (high)	6S/12P	20	24/48/64GB	Up to four	307GB/s	One
Apple M5 Max (low)	6S/12P	32	36GB	Up to five	460GB/s	Two
Apple M5 Max (high)	6S/12P	40	48/64/128GB	Up to five	614GB/s	Two

Despite all the big under-the-hood changes, the basic hierarchy here remains the same as in past generations. The Pro tier offers the biggest bump to CPU performance compared to the basic M5, along with twice as many GPU cores. The Max chip is mainly meant for those who want better graphics, 128GB of RAM, or both.

Compared to M2, M3, and M4

	CPU S/P/E-cores	GPU cores	RAM options	Display support (including internal)	Memory bandwidth
Apple M5 (high)	4S/6E	8	16/24/32GB	Up to three	153GB/s
Apple M4 (high)	4P/6E	10	16/24/32GB	Up to three	120GB/s
Apple M3 (high)	4P/4E	10	8/16/24GB	Up to two	102.4GB/s
Apple M2 (high)	4P/4E	10	8/16/24GB	Up to two	102.4GB/s

Compared to past generations, the M5 looks like the basic incremental improvement that we’re used to—no huge jumps in CPU or GPU core counts, relying mostly on architectural improvements and memory bandwidth increases to deliver the expected generation-over-generation speed boost. The Pro and Max chips have similar graphics core counts across generations, but there has been more variability when it comes to the CPU cores.

	CPU S/P/E-cores	GPU cores	RAM options	Display support (including internal)	Memory bandwidth
Apple M5 Pro (high)	6S/12P	20	24/48/64GB	Up to four	307GB/s
Apple M4 Pro (high)	10P/4E	20	24/48/64GB	Up to three	273GB/s
Apple M3 Pro (high)	6P/6E	18	18/36GB	Up to three	153.6GB/s
Apple M2 Pro (high)	8P/4E	19	16/32GB	Up to three	204.8GB/s

The Pro chips have been sort of all over the place, and the M3 generation in particular is an outlier. When we tested it at the time, we found it to be more or less a wash compared to the M2 Pro, which was (and still is) rare for Apple Silicon generations. The M4 Pro was a better upgrade, and the M5 Pro should still feel like an improvement over the M4 Pro despite the big underlying changes.

	CPU S/P/E-cores	GPU cores	RAM options	Display support (including internal)	Memory bandwidth
Apple M5 Max (high)	6S/12P	40	48/64/128GB	Up to five	614GB/s
Apple M4 Max (high)	12P/4E	40	48/64/128GB	Up to five	546GB/s
Apple M3 Max (high)	12P/4E	40	48/64/128GB	Up to five	409.6GB/s
Apple M2 Max (high)	8P/4E	38	64/96GB	Up to five	409.6GB/s

The M5 Max will be the biggest test for Apple’s new performance cores. According to our testing of the M5 in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, the M5-generation super cores are about 12 to 15 percent faster than the M4 generation’s performance cores. The M4 Max had up to 12 of those cores, while the M5 Max only has six. That leaves a pretty substantial gap for M5 Max’s new non-super P-cores to close.

Aside from that, the biggest outstanding question is how the M5 shakeup changes Apple’s approach to Ultra chips, assuming the company continues to make them (Apple has already said that not every processor generation will see an Ultra update).

The M1 Ultra, M2 Ultra, and M3 Ultra were all made by fusing two Max chips together, perfectly doubling the CPU and GPU core counts. Will an M5 Ultra still weld two M5 Max chips together using the same basic ingredients to make an even larger processor? Or will Apple create distinct CPU and GPU chiplets just for the Ultra series? All we can say for sure is that we can no longer make assumptions based on Apple’s past behavior, which tends to be the most reliable predictor of its future behavior.

M5 Pro and M5 Max are surprisingly big departures from older Apple Silicon Read More »

New MacBook Airs come with M5, double the storage, and higher starting prices

Apple, Apple M5, Apple silicon, MacBook Air, Tech / Shannon Garcia / March 3, 2026

Most of Apple’s laptop lineup is getting refreshed today—the high-end MacBook Pros are getting M5 Pro and M5 Max chip refreshes, and the MacBook Air is getting upgraded with an M5.

The more significant update might be the storage, though: Apple is bumping the Air’s base storage from 256GB up to 512GB, and Apple says the storage will be up to twice as fast as the M4 MacBook Air.

But that’s also increasing the Air’s starting price from $999 to $1,099 for the 13-inch model, and from $1,199 to $1,299 for the 15-inch model. Whether you describe this as a price increase or a price cut depends on your point of view; the 512GB version of the M4 MacBook Air would have cost you $1,199. But for people who just want the cheapest Air and don’t particularly care about the specs, the pricing is now $100 higher than it was before.

Apple is offering two versions of the M5 in the new Airs: one with 8 GPU cores enabled, and one with all 10 GPU cores enabled. Upgrading to the fully enabled chip will run you an extra $100, and you’ll also need to have the fully enabled chip to step up to the 24GB or 32GB RAM upgrades or the 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB storage upgrades. All versions of the M5 include a total of four high-performance cores—now dubbed “super cores”—and six efficiency cores.

An Apple N1 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip rounds out the internal upgrades.

Like the other products Apple has announced so far this week, the new MacBook Airs will be available for preorder on March 4, and you’ll be able to get them on March 11.

The new MacBook Airs are part of a string of announcements that Apple is making this week in the run-up to a “special experience” event on Wednesday morning. So far, the company has also announced a new iPhone 17e, an updated iPad Air with an M4 chip and additional RAM, new MacBook Pros, and updated Studio Displays.

Increasing the starting price of the MacBook Air, incidentally, leaves even more room in Apple’s lineup for the new, cheaper MacBook that the company is said to be planning. If Apple is planning to launch this cheaper MacBook this week, the announcement will likely come tomorrow.

New MacBook Airs come with M5, double the storage, and higher starting prices Read More »

Apple intros M5 Pro and Max MacBook Pros and its first new monitors in years

Apple, MacBook Pro, studio display, Tech / Beth Washington / March 3, 2026

Apple updated its low-end MacBook Pro with the Apple M5 chip back in October, but the higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch Pros stuck with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. This morning, Apple circled back and updated the rest of the lineup, adding the M5 Pro and M5 Max to the higher-end machines and bumping the base storage—the M5 Pro now comes with 1TB of storage by default, while M5 Max chips come with 2TB of storage by default. The internal storage is said to be “up to 2x faster” than the previous-generation Pros. Apple is also bumping the base storage for the M5 MacBook Pro from 512GB to 1TB.

Unlike Apple’s other announcements this week, though, these upgrades also come with increases to their starting prices; the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip now starts at $2,199 instead of $1,999, and the 16-inch model with an M5 Pro chip starts at $2,699 instead of $2,499. The M5 MacBook Pro now starts at $1,699, up from $1,599. Granted, you’re getting double the storage of those old base models, but you no longer have the option to pay less if you don’t need 1TB of space.

The M5 Pro and M5 Max look like fairly major updates from the M4 Pro and M4 Max. Both use an 18-core CPU with six higher-performing cores and 12 lower-performing cores, but Apple is changing how it talks about each kind of core. The high-performance cores are now called “super cores,” a change that Apple says will retroactively apply to the high-performance cores in the basic Apple M5. The M5 has four of them, and M5 Pro and M5 Max have six.

Apple says the 12 other CPU cores in the M5 Pro and M5 Max are an “all-new performance core that is optimized to deliver greater power-efficient, multithreaded performance for pro workloads.” These appear to be different from the efficiency cores used in M5 and older Apple chips. Apple didn’t make direct generation-over-generation performance comparisons, but it did say that M5 Pro and M5 Max “deliver up to 2.5x higher multithreaded performance than M1 Pro and M1 Max.”

Apple intros M5 Pro and Max MacBook Pros and its first new monitors in years Read More »

$599 M4 iPad Air is a lot like the old one, but with a substantial RAM boost

Apple, ipad, iPad Air, iPadOS, ipados 26, Tech / Mike M. / March 2, 2026

This version of the Apple M4 is slightly cut down compared to the version that ships in Macs or that came with the M4 iPad Pro. It has only 8 CPU cores—3 high-performance cores and 5 efficiency cores, down from a maximum of and 4 and 6. It also uses 9 GPU cores instead of 10, and there isn’t an Air variant with 16GB of RAM. A 16GB RAM configuration was available for M4 iPad Pros with 1TB or 2TB of storage. The cellular versions also pick up Apple’s in-house Apple C1X modem, plus the Apple N1 chip for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Otherwise, very little has changed about the new iPad Air. It still comes in four relatively muted color options (space gray, blue, purple, and a pale gold “starlight”), still uses a regular 60 Hz LCD display rather than an OLED or ProMotion screen, still uses a power button-mounted TouchID sensor rather than FaceID, and still includes a single-lens 12MP rear camera with no flash. Apple continues to not offer its nano-texture display coating for the Air, either—that’s reserved exclusively for higher-end iPad Pro configurations.

The new iPad Air is part of a string of announcements that Apple is planning in the run-up to a “special experience” event on Wednesday morning. The company also announced a new iPhone 17e today and is widely expected to debut a new low-end iPad and a new MacBook that’s substantially cheaper than the MacBook Air.

This piece was updated at 11: 15am on March 2 to add details about the M4 chip’s CPU core configuration, and to mention the Apple N1 and C1X wireless chips.

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Apple’s new iPhone 17e has an A19 chip, MagSafe, and 256GB of storage for $599

Apple, iOS, ios 26, IPhone, iPhone 16e, iphone 17e, iphone SE, Tech / 9u50fv / March 2, 2026

The iPhone 17e will support MagSafe, which was notably absent from the 16e. Credit: Apple

The 17e comes in three color options: black, white, and a pastel pink. It still includes a USB-C port, a notched display rather than a Dynamic Island, an Action Button, a 6.1-inch 60 Hz OLED display without ProMotion or always-on support, and a single 48 megapixel rear camera (which is still capable of taking 2x telephoto images by cropping a 24 MP chunk out of the middle of the image sensor).

The biggest problem with the iPhone 17e is still that it’s just $200 cheaper than the iPhone 17, which is an exceptionally strong version of Apple’s default phone. That $200 gets you a better main camera, a wide-angle lens, a slightly larger 6.3-inch display with ProMotion support and a Dynamic Island, and marginally faster graphics performance. But the 17e’s 256GB storage upgrade and the new chip do make it more appealing than the $699 iPhone 16, which also lacks a ProMotion display and only has 128GB of storage.

The new phone is part of a string of announcements that Apple is planning in the run-up to a “special experience” event on Wednesday morning. The company also announced a new iPad Air with an M4 chip today and is also widely expected to debut a new low-end iPad and a new MacBook that’s substantially cheaper than the MacBook Air.

Apple’s new iPhone 17e has an A19 chip, MagSafe, and 256GB of storage for $599 Read More »

AMD Ryzen AI 400 chips will bring newer CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs to AM5 desktops

AMD, Ryzen, ryzen ai, Tech / Mike M. / March 2, 2026

AMD’s initial lineup includes a total of six chips, split between variants with 65 W and 35 W default TDPs. None match the specs of chips like the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, which includes 12 CPU cores and a 16-core Radeon 890M GPU. Credit: AMD

Like past G-series Ryzen chips, these are essentially laptop silicon repackaged for desktop systems. They share most of their specs in common with Ryzen AI 300 laptop processors, despite their Ryzen AI 400-series branding. The two chip generations are extremely similar overall, but the Ryzen AI 400-series laptop CPUs include slightly faster 55 TOPS NPUs.

Unlike past launches, AMD is not providing its top-end laptop silicon for desktop use, at least not yet. None of these chips includes the full complement of 12 CPU cores that you can get in the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 or 370; you also can’t get the Radeon 880M or Radeon 890M integrated GPUs. The three models AMD is announcing today top out at 8 CPU cores (likely split evenly between the faster Zen 5 cores and slower, smaller, and more power-efficient Zen 5c cores) and a Radeon 860M integrated GPU with 8 RDNA 3.5 graphics cores.

AMD could always decide to release higher-end processor options at a later date, but the fact is that it makes little financial sense to try to build mini gaming PCs around socket AM5 processors right now. These need pairs of fast DDR5 sticks to maximize their performance, and prices for fast DDR5 sticks have shot into the stratosphere over the past year. It’s hard to make any kind of gaming PC make financial sense right now, but the frames-per-second-per-dollar you get from a desktop iGPU make them particularly unappealing. This may explain why the CPUs are targeting business desktops first.

The Ryzen AI 400 desktop CPU announcement is in line with what AMD announced at CES earlier this year: low-key iterations on existing technology that do little to push the envelope. Maybe that’s the best that we can expect, given current RAM and storage shortages and the fact that most of the world’s chipmakers are all competing for manufacturing capacity at TSMC.

AMD Ryzen AI 400 chips will bring newer CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs to AM5 desktops Read More »

Apple says it has “a big week ahead.” Here’s what we expect to see.

Apple, Apple silicon, ipad, IPhone, MacBook, Tech / 9u50fv / February 28, 2026

it’s what’s on the inside that counts

Apple is taking an “ain’t broke/don’t fix” approach to most of its gadgets.

Apple’s 2018-era design for the then-Intel-powered MacBook Air. The M1 Air used largely the same design, and we expect Apple’s lower-cost MacBook to look pretty similar. Credit: Valentina Palladino

Excepting the AirTag 2, so far it’s been a quiet year for Apple hardware. But that’s poised to change next week, as the company is hosting a “special experience” on March 4.

The use of the word experience, rather than event or presentation, implies that Apple’s typical presentation format won’t apply here. And CEO Tim Cook more or less confirmed this when he posted that the company had “a big week ahead,” starting on Monday. Apple is most likely planning multiple days of product launches announced via press release on its Newsroom site, with the “experience” on Wednesday serving as a capper and a hands-on session for the media.

Apple has used a similar strategy before, spacing out relatively low-key refreshes over several days to generate sustained interest rather than dropping everything in a single 30- to 60-minute string of pre-recorded videos.

Reporting on what, exactly, Apple plans to announce has consistently centered on a small handful of specific devices, but with the exception of the iPhone 17 series, the M5 Vision Pro, and the Apple Watch, most of Apple’s major products have gone long enough without an update that anything is possible. Here’s what we consider to be the most likely, and a few other notes besides.

The long-awaited “budget” MacBook

Most rumors and leaks agree that Apple is preparing to launch a new MacBook priced well below the MacBook Air, in a style similar to the $349 iPad or the iPhone 16e. Commonly cited specs include a 13-inch-ish screen and an Apple A18 Pro chip, which debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro in 2024 and is typically packaged with 8GB of RAM. The laptop is also said to be coming in multiple colors, taking a page from the iMac and the basic iPad.

Rumors have circulated about a “cheap” MacBook purpose-built for cost-conscious buyers since the late 2000s, if not before. But none of these, if they’ve existed in Apple’s labs, have ever made it to stores, and Apple’s laptops have reliably started at around $1,000 for over 20 years.

But in the two years since removing it from its online store, Apple has used the old M1 MacBook Air design as a sort of trial balloon. Since early 2024, the laptop has only been available through Walmart in the US, with a basic 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. But it has been priced in the same $600 to $700 range as midrange Windows laptops and higher-end Chromebooks and has apparently done well enough to merit a true successor.

I expect Apple to follow a pattern similar to what it did when it first launched the $329 iPad in 2017, or the iPhone SE in 2016: to essentially re-use the 2020-era MacBook Air’s design and other components to the greatest degree possible.

These are already parts that Apple and its suppliers have a lot of experience manufacturing, and they’ve been around long enough that they’re probably about as inexpensive as they’re going to get. They’re also proven components that meet Apple’s usual standards for materials and build quality. If that leaves the new MacBook slightly out of step with the rest of Apple’s laptop designs, that’s a compromise the company has been willing to make in the past.

Some of the details of this system will probably be a surprise, but we can expect Apple to create some intentional distance between this MacBook and the MacBook Air, the same as it does for the low-end iPad and iPhone. The processor will be one limitation; the potential 8GB RAM ceiling, limited upgrade options, fewer and less-capable ports, and limited external display support may be others.

This thing is likely destined to be an email, browsing, and casual phone-camera-photo-editing machine for people who prefer a traditional clamshell laptop to an iPad. The $999-and-up MacBook Air will continue to be Apple’s default do-anything laptop, and the MacBook Pro will continue to occupy the “do-anything, but faster” position.

The $349 iPad

Apple’s basic $349 iPad could get an Apple Intelligence update, thanks to a processor and RAM bump. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

Speaking of the Apple A18 series, Apple is apparently planning a refresh of its $349 base-model iPad that uses an A18 or possibly an A19. Assuming it still comes with 8GB of RAM—up from 6GB for the current Apple A16-powered iPad—either chip would help it clear the bar for Apple Intelligence support.

Apple doesn’t always update its basic iPad every year; in 2024, for instance, it got a price drop rather than a hardware refresh. But the A16 iPad is currently the only thing in the entire iPhone/iPad/Mac lineup without support for Apple Intelligence, a bundle of features that Apple markets pretty heavily despite their functional unevenness. That marketing campaign is likely to intensify when Apple finally releases its new Google Gemini-powered Siri update at some point this year.

Even if you don’t care about Apple Intelligence, a basic iPad with 8GB of RAM will be a win for most users, since you can use that extra RAM for all kinds of things that have nothing to do with AI. It’s the same amount of memory Apple has shipped with the iPad Air since the M1 model, and with several generations of iPad Pro. Even attached to a slower processor, this should still improve the multitasking and productivity experience on the tablet.

The iPhone 17e

Apple would let the old iPhone SE languish for at least a couple years between updates, but it’s apparently taking a different tack with the “e” iPhones.

The main star of this refresh is a new chip, which will supposedly be upgraded from an Apple A18 to an A19. It’s also said to be picking up MagSafe charging support, making it compatible with Apple-made and third-party accessories that magnetically clamp to the back of other iPhones.

Other than that, the rumor mill suggests that the 17e will stick with its notched screen rather than a Dynamic Island, and we’d be surprised to see it move beyond its basic one-lens camera. Assuming Apple sticks with the same $599 starting price, though, there will still be some awkward overlap between the iPhone 16 and the regular iPhone 17.

The iPad Air

Do you like the current iPad Air with the Apple M3? Or the last one with the Apple M2?

That’s lucky for you, because a next-generation iPad Air is likely to continue in the same vein, picking up a new chip but not changing much else. If you’re holding out for something more exciting, like improved screen technology, you’ll likely be disappointed.

There’s no word on whether the M4 might come with any other internal upgrades, like more RAM or increased storage in the base model. Either or both of those could spice up an otherwise straightforward update.

Other possibilities

Apple could update the remaining M4 family MacBook Pros (pictured) with M5 family replacements. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

Apple could choose to refresh almost any of its Macs next week—only the low-end MacBook Pro has an M5 chip, and it has been at least a year since the rest of the lineup was last updated. There’s no refresh that would come as a true surprise, excepting maybe the Mac Pro that Apple has allegedly put “on the back burner” (again).

Higher-end MacBook Pros with M5 Pro and M5 Max processors would be the most interesting updates, since they would be the first Macs to debut higher-end M5 family processors. But if you’re not desperate for an upgrade, it might be better to keep waiting a while longer. These M5 models are said to continue using the same design Apple has been using for the MacBook Pro for the last five years, and a more significant design update with OLED touchscreens and the Mac’s first Dynamic Island could be on the horizon.

M5 updates for the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air, the iMac, the Mac mini, and the Mac Studio could happen, too; none of these computers are said to be getting any kind of significant design overhaul this generation. I would, however, be surprised if Apple chose to refresh these Macs all at once. To update some models now and hold others back until later in the spring or maybe even until the Worldwide Developers Conference in June would be more in keeping with Apple’s past practice.

As for other devices, reports have circulated for months about an imminent update for the Apple TV box, last refreshed in 2022. It has yet to materialize and is not mentioned on any shortlist for next week’s announcements, but an update is well overdue, and a new chip like the A18 or A19 would be necessary if Apple wanted to start bringing Apple Intelligence features to tvOS.

The common theme to all of these refreshes is that we can expect their updates to happen primarily on the inside, rather than the outside. The inside of a device is often more important than the outside of it, and these kinds of chip-only updates are usually successful in keeping Apple’s hardware feeling fresh. Just don’t expect to have many interesting new things to look at.

Apple says it has “a big week ahead.” Here’s what we expect to see. Read More »

Under a Paramount-WBD merger, two struggling media giants would unite

acquisitions, cable, HBO Max, mergers, netflix, paramount plus, Paramount Skydance, Policy, streaming, Tech, warner bros. discovery / 9u50fv / February 27, 2026

A successful Paramount-WBD merger would be the largest streaming merger ever and would lead to further consolidation in the industry.

“What started as a fragmented but flexible streaming ecosystem is increasingly trending toward rebundling—fewer, larger super-platforms offering broader catalogues at higher price points,” Mathur said.

Paramount holds on to cable

Paramount’s WBD bid is unique in its aggressive push for cable channels, which are struggling with viewership and advertising revenue. Under a WBD merger, Paramount would add networks like HGTV, Cartoon Network, TLC, and CNN to its linear TV lineup, which currently includes Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and CBS.

Although Paramount and WBD’s cable businesses are both in decline, they are both profitable. Paramount’s TV/media business, which includes its cable channels and production studios, reported $1.1 billion in adjusted OIBDA in Q4 2025. WBD’s cable business posted adjusted EBITDA of $1.41 billion that quarter.

Ultimately, a Paramount-WBD merger would put diversity of viewpoints at risk. Under Ellison’s ownership, CBS News has adjusted its approach with new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. There have also been concerns about censoring CBS under Ellison’s Paramount, including from Stephen Colbert, who said this month that CBS forbade him from interviewing Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico; CBS denied Colbert’s claim. Further, Paramount could have a lasting impact on CNN, including costs, layoffs, and coverage.

More to come

Regulatory scrutiny will be at the center of Paramount and WBD’s merger over the upcoming months. Federal approval is likely, but the merger also faces European regulation and potential state lawsuits. The theater industry is also lobbying against Paramount’s WBD merger.

Should a Paramount-WBD merger ultimately be greenlit, two declining businesses will be challenged to form a profitable one. Even with regulatory approval, Paramount-Skydance-Warner-Bros.-Discovery faces an uphill climb.

Although the bidding war may be settled, the fight for WBD is only beginning.

Under a Paramount-WBD merger, two struggling media giants would unite Read More »

Netflix cedes Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount: “No longer financially attractive”

acquisitions, cable, HBO Max, mergers, netflix, paramount, paramount plus, Paramount Skydance, Policy, streaming, Tech, warner bros. discovery / Kelly Newman / February 27, 2026

On Thursday, WBD’s board deemed Paramount’s revamped offer “superior,” giving Netflix four business days to match it. But that same day, Netflix, which had recently emphasized its willingness to walk away from mergers it deems overly expensive, said it would no longer pursue the acquisition.

A statement from Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters issued last night said:

The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.

The CEOs added that the WBD merger “was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”

Netflix and Paramount’s stock have continuously declined since Netflix announced its planned merger. Following yesterday’s announcement, Netflix shares rose by more than 10 percent in after-hours trading, and Paramount shares increased by 5 percent.

In a statement quoted by The Hollywood Reporter yesterday, WBD President and CEO David Zaslav said, “Once our board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it will create tremendous value for our shareholders. We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world.”

The article was edited to correct ticking fee information.

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