MacRumors

Over a year after grandfathered subscribers on Netflix's original $7.99/month plan were introduced to the new $9.99/month pricing, Mashable reports that the standard streaming plan will be increasing by $1 starting for U.S. subscribers in November. This means that those who now pay $9.99/month to stream on two screens at once (the standard tier) will be paying $10.99/month soon.

The top tier option, which provides streaming on four screens at once and allows access to Ultra HD videos, is also increasing from $11.99/month to $13.99/month. The service's basic plan is staying at $7.99/month, letting users stream only in standard definition on one screen at a time.

The exact time that the new prices will show up will vary depending on each subscriber's billing cycle, but starting on October 19 Netflix will send out emails with "at least" 30 days of notice ahead of the bump in price. Regarding the changes, Netflix provided the following statement:

"From time to time, Netflix plans and pricing are adjusted as we add more exclusive TV shows and movies, introduce new product features and improve the overall Netflix experience to help members find something great to watch even faster."

For the last price change, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wrote a letter to company investors about an "unexpected" loss of subscribers following the price hike from $7.99 to $9.99. At the time, Hastings said that, "Whatever the price is for something, people don’t like for it to go up," while still claiming that the new price tiers were "working great" for new members who were not grandfathered into the $7.99/month model.

Home security camera company Canary has updated the features included in its free and paid subscription packages over the past few days, removing multiple camera abilities that were once free to all users and placing them behind the company's $9.99/month paywall. Subscriptions increase to $14.99/month for 2-3 cameras, and an additional $4.99/month for each added device.

Many Canary customers have emailed and Tweeted us over the past few days pointing out the changes, and now Canary has provided a statement to The Verge regarding its motivations.

Under the terms of the new "Free Service," Canary users can no longer use Night Mode if they aren't paying, meaning they can't set their camera to record clips when motion is detected in the nighttime while they're home. Canary Free Service members can no longer record videos or receive motion alerts in Home Mode, nor can they record a full clip from when motion is detected to when the motion ends. Instead, for Free Service members the Canary Cam automatically cuts off the clip ten seconds after the first motion is seen. Canary calls these "digestible video previews."

Canary Free Service members also can't download and share videos from the iOS app, but can bookmark an unlimited amount of video previews to their timeline. All of these are features that were previously free, and now require users to become a paid "Canary Member." As MacRumors readers have pointed out on Twitter, this means that even if you bought a Canary device months ago under the impression of not needing a paid subscription for basic features, you will now have to pay the company to keep on using the most useful abilities of the security cameras, or attempt to return or sell them.

Some basic features of the cams remain intact for Free Service members, like watching a feed live while in Home Mode without needing to switch to a different "Away" mode. Canary has updated the timeline as well, so that multiple cameras in one home have 24 hours of history for each individual device, instead of those 24 hours being divided up across devices.

According to Canary's FAQ page, the membership update comes with a change in its cloud service implementation, and the prior Free Service tier "will no longer be available." Understandably, the frustrations of many users center around Canary's last-minute announcement of the changes (September 28), which came less than one week ahead of the official implementation (October 3).

Can I keep my legacy plans rather than switching to the new Free Service?
No. All customers who are not on Canary Membership will shift to our new Free Service experience. This is a change in our cloud service implementation, and the prior Free Service experience will no longer be available.

Canary co-founder and chief design officer Jon Troutman issued the following statement on the situation to The Verge:

"Today we stream nearly 500 million video clips per day. Most Canary users rely on notifications, Watch Live, and their timeline images to determine what is happening in their homes or businesses, which means that hundreds of millions of recorded videos travel through our platform unwatched, making the system slower, and costing Canary a significant amount in cloud expenses. To address this, we have aligned all free users on a plan that provides Video Previews that are still maintained on a 24-hour timeline. We have also introduced a faster Watch Live experience that can now be enabled while Canary devices are set to Away or Home mode. Our goal with these changes was to maintain a highly-competitive free service option while enabling continuous innovation and new feature development for all users."

Canary's stance appears to consistently state that too many recorded videos were traveling through the Canary platform "unwatched," leading to a slowdown of the service for some users, as well as "costing Canary a significant amount in cloud expenses." As such, the company has adjusted the Free Service tier by paring down to ten second video previews, removing Night Mode, and preventing users from downloading and sharing videos within the Canary app.

Amid all of the turmoil over the new subscription plans, there's also still no word from Canary about when HomeKit support will launch with the Canary Plus. Canary first announced the HomeKit-enabled camera in June 2016 for a release sometime that fall.

Microsoft today announced that its Edge web browser is coming to iOS, starting with a beta version for iPhone available today.

Microsoft Edge will primarily appeal to iPhone users that use a Windows PC instead of a Mac thanks to a "Continue on PC" feature that enables users to push a website from the mobile to desktop version of the browser, like Apple's Handoff.

Continue on PC functionality on the desktop side will be part of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, available worldwide October 17.

The mobile version also includes access to favorites, history, a reading list, and e-books, but The Verge said tabs and history of what you browse on your smartphone are not shared to the desktop version of Edge yet.

"Microsoft's Joe Belfiore says the company still has work to do on the desktop version of Edge to support this, but the company is hoping to enable this at some point in the future," said reporter Tom Warren.

The report added that Bing, Google, and Yahoo can be set as the default search engine in Edge for iOS, which has a similar design as the desktop version. The mobile version doesn't have Cortana or built-in ad blocking.

On iOS, Microsoft is using Apple's WebKit engine, as required for all third-party browsers on the platform. From a compatibility perspective, Microsoft said Edge for iOS should match the version of Safari that is currently available for iPhone.

Keep in mind that, like other third-party web browsers, Microsoft Edge cannot be enabled as the default browser on iPhone.

Microsoft Edge for iOS is currently available in English only, but the company said it will add support for other languages as it expands the preview. iPad and Android support will be added in the future as well.

Access to the Microsoft Edge Preview for iOS is reserved for Windows Insiders. The beta can be installed through Apple's TestFlight program.

Microsoft Edge for iOS should be available on the App Store later this year.

After beginning as a small test in Portugal in September, Instagram this week is beginning to roll out a feature that lets you automatically share the same Instagram Story to your Facebook Story with the tap of a button. TechCrunch spotted the cross-platform Story syncing, and Instagram parent company Facebook subsequently confirmed the feature's rollout will be coming to all United States users this week.

Instagram Stories has grown to become a big success for the company in the 14 months since it launched, with 250 million users interacting with Stories every day as of last June. In April, Instagram Stories surpassed rival Snapchat in terms of daily active users. The feature is the same across platforms, allowing you to post a picture or a video that disappears after 24 hours.

“You now have the option to share your Instagram Stories to your Facebook Stories. We’re always working to make it easier to share any moment with the people who matter to you” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch.

While Stories on Instagram have been a hit, Facebook's launch of its own Stories tab has been less successful, with many users pointing out that little to none of their friends share on the platform. Likely because of this, Facebook soon after the feature's launch began populating the Stories tab with grayed-out profile pictures of friends so this section of the app wouldn't be as empty.

With the new update, Facebook Stories should see an uptick in user engagement since it'll be easier than ever to share a quick picture or video Story from Instagram, without having to open Facebook. For now, however, you won't be able post to Instagram Stories from Facebook Stories, but the company "hasn't ruled out" introducing such an update in the future.

Besides its main app and Instagram, Facebook has also added disappearing Story-like abilities into Messenger and WhatsApp.

The Indian government is now in the process of considering exemptions sought by Apple for setting up more units to assemble iPhones, according to a top bureaucrat in the country's commerce and industry ministry (via Reuters).

The news came shortly after India's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) gave Chinese smartphone maker Oppo clearance to open its own single-brand retail stores in the country, suggesting Apple has a good chance of gaining approval for its own state requests.

The Oppo decision is also positive for companies like Xiaomi and Vivo, which have been trying to get similar approvals, according to Counterpoint Research.

Apple has asked federal government officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build out its iPhone assembly infrastructure in India.

Apple officially began assembling iPhones in May at plants run by supplier Wistron, thereby satisfying India's requirement that 30 percent of products sold by foreign companies be manufactured or produced within the country.

The phones have been available to buy in reseller stores since around June. Apple's website in India currently has a "Where to Buy" page for all iPhone models, directing users to resellers Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone.

Like Oppo, Apple is also seeking permission to open its own retail stores in India. Apple wants to open its first physical retail store in India as early as 2018, and the company is reportedly looking to open four to five flagship-class stores in the country over the next five to ten years.

Following the release of iOS 11.0.1 and iOS 11.0.2 on September 26 and October 3, respectively, Apple has stopped signing both iOS 10.3.3 and iOS 11.0, the previous versions of iOS that were available to consumers.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 11.0.1, iOS 11.0.2, or iOS 11 will no longer be able to downgrade to the iOS 10.3.3 operating system.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.

iOS 11.0.1 and iOS 11.0.2 are now the only versions of iOS 11 that can be installed on iOS devices by the general public, but developers can download iOS 11.1, a future update that is being beta tested and will be released in the near future.

As Apple prepares to launch its first OLED iPhone with an edge-to-edge display, facial recognition, upgraded cameras, and other features, iDrop News has created renderings imagining what the future of the iPhone X might look like.

The renderings pair the existing 5.8-inch iPhone X with a larger model that has a 6.4-inch screen, based on the hypothesis that Apple is planning to release an all OLED iPhone lineup with devices that are similar in design to the iPhone X.

Design wise, the "iPhone X Plus" model in the rendering is identical to the iPhone X, with just a larger display to distinguish the two devices. It has the same notch-shaped top element to house the TrueDepth camera and sensors. Should Apple plan to introduce a larger version of the iPhone X in 2018 or beyond, it's not clear what it would be named, but "iPhone X Plus" likely isn't an option.

Though the iPhone X won't be available for purchase for another three weeks, we've already been hearing rumors about Apple's plans for 2018 and beyond.

Early information suggests Apple is aiming to introduce at least two OLED iPhones in 2018, with displays that measure in at 5.85 inches and 6.46 inches, similar to the renderings above. Apple is said to be working with Samsung Display and other suppliers to source OLED displays for the two devices.

Separate rumors have confirmed that Apple is aiming for an all OLED lineup for 2018 or 2019, with specific timing dependent on whether Apple can secure enough OLED production capacity from its various partners.

Apple was not able to introduce an all OLED lineup in 2017, instead pairing the $999 OLED iPhone X with the standard LCD iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, both of which have lower price tags.

The debut of the Apple Watch Series 3 brought about a few price drops for the previous generation Series 2 models last month, with B&H Photo offering around $290 for 38mm cases and $320 for 42mm cases in Aluminum. This week at Best Buy, prices have continued to drop by about $20 for a wide variety of Series 2 Aluminum models, with most 38mm versions selling for $270 and 42mm versions selling for $300.

Included in Best Buy's sale are Apple Watch Nike+ models and some Stainless Steel editions, with the latter models up to $120 off their original retail prices, and as much as $60 down from when we posted the previous Series 2 discount article in mid-September. Below we'll list a few models on sale with Best Buy's new prices (bold) compared to current prices of similar Series 3 collections on Apple.com.

Series 2 Aluminum

• 38mm Silver Case, White Sport Band - $269.00, compared to $329

• 42mm Silver Case, White Sport Band - $299.00, compared to $359

• Nike+ 38mm Space Gray Case, Black/Volt Sport Band - $269.00, compared to $329

• Nike+ 42mm Space Gray Case, Black/Volt Sport Band - $299.00, compared to $359

Series 2 Stainless Steel

• 42mm Space Black Case, Space Black Sport Band - $429.00, compared to $649

• 38mm Case, Milanese Loop Band - $479.00, compared to $699

• 38mm Space Black Case, Space Black Milanese Loop Band - $529, compared to $749

• 42mm Space Black Case, Space Black Milanese Loop Band - $579, compared to $799

Apple only offers Stainless Steel Series 3 models in LTE versions, meaning that all of the new models with a Stainless Steel case this year are automatically slightly higher in price due to the added LTE capabilities. In total, there are six Apple Watch Series 3 collections (all in Aluminum) without LTE among Apple's 31 new collections of the revamped wearable device. For this reason, anyone who isn't interested in cellular connection on their Apple Watch -- or in Series 3's faster processing speeds -- will greatly benefit from deals on the Series 2 models.

More of the latest deals can be found in our Deals Roundup, where you can find sales this week on the DJI Osmo for iPhone, certified pre-owned iPhone 7 models from T-Mobile, and more.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy.