Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube announced a hefty subscription price increase this week that will shoot the monthly cost up by $10 to $82.99 on January 13th for existing members (or now, if you sign up today). Some subscribers are staving off the hike using the time-honored tradition of threatening to cancel, as one Verge reader indicated in a comment on our original story about the price hike.That’s backed up by users in a Reddit thread that 9to5Google spotted, several of whom reported getting the offer to keep paying $72.99 for six more months when they tried to cancel their subscriptions, although some report that didn’t work for them. Some who did get to keep the old price say it happened only when they logged in using a web browser on their computer and pushed through offers to pause their subscription instead. One Verge staffer, Jennifer Tuohy, did get the offer to extend her current price. She canceled by logging into YouTube TV in a browser on her computer and navigating to Settings > Membership > Manage. As of this morning, Reddit users continue to report receiving the extension offer.

Photo: Wes Davis / The Verge The group behind the HDMI standard, HDMI Forum, says that it will detail a new spec release in a press conference on January 6th that will enable “a wide range of higher resolutions and refresh rates.” The new capabilities will be “supported with a new cable,” according to the HDMI Forum’s email to The Verge announcing the presser.The spec is likely to be HDMI 2.2, as VideoCardz notes. The Forum’s email hints at it too, noting that the HDMI Licensing Administrator, which two of the planned speakers at the event represent, is appointed “to license Version 2.2 of the HDMI specification.” HDMI 2.1, which has only ever received lettered revisions since its 2017 introduction, supports 48Gbps bandwidth, up to 120Hz variable refresh rates, and resolutions up to 10240 x 4320. VideoCardz speculates that the updated spec could allow for higher resolutions and framerates without the need for Display Stream Compression. Whatever the spec brings, that mention of a new cable is a tidy reminder that like USB-C, not all HDMI cables are the same. It seems unlikely that HDMI Forum would change the port itself, so you’ll probably be able to use your old ones with the updated spec, and some might even support its higher bandwidth. Still, there’s always the chance you need fresh cables to get all of the new capabilities when the time comes.

Illustration: The Verge This week, Google announced it’s rolling out ChromeOS M131 to non-beta users, bringing with it a handy “Safety reset” feature that lets Chromebook users reset their laptops without totally wiping them. The update also introduced a new “Flash notifications” accessibility option to help those who might not otherwise easily hear or see them.Like Powerwash in ChromeOS, Safety reset will wipe the slate clean if you’re experiencing computer virus-like behavior such as unusual pop-ups. But where Powerwash is a full factory reset, Safety reset preserves local data and apps, as well as things like bookmarks and saved passwords, according to a help document about the feature.Google also writes that users can call up the Safety reset dialog box directly by pressing CTRL + Shift + Search + R. Otherwise, you can find it in the “Safety and privacy” settings menu or by searching Settings or Launcher for keywords like “Pop-up,” “Spam,” or “Virus.” Image: Google The new flash notifications settings in ChromeOS accessibility settings. As for the new Flash notifications setting, it’s available in accessibility settings under “Audio and captions,” giving an additional visual notification indicator to those who might otherwise miss them because they’re hard of hearing or use screen magnification to read content. Users can pick the flash’s color from several options, and a preview button lets them see what it looks like.

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft’s Phone Link app is warning that Android smartphones using the latest version of Android 15 won’t display certain “sensitive” notifications, according to a post from Mishaal Rahman spotted by Windows Central. The warning is the result of an Android 15 privacy feature that automatically categorizes notifications like those containing 2FA codes as “sensitive” and prevents third-party apps from seeing them. That extra bit of privacy could come in handy if you’ve unwittingly given a malicious app permission to access your notifications. But it could be inconvenient if you frequently rely on seeing 2FA codes appear on your computer via Phone Link. Screenshot: Windows Phone Link warning Mishaal Rahman posted a screenshot of the warning. According to Rahman, Windows should still show sensitive notifications for Android devices where Phone Link came preinstalled and has requested a “Companion Device Role.” That includes Samsung phones running One UI 6.1.1, but not other Android phones like Google Pixel or Nothing Phones, writes Windows Central.Rahman wrote in October that users could get around the notification-hiding feature by turning off “Enhanced Notifications” in Android 15’s notifications settings. However, doing so also turns off things like reply suggestions and could make it easier again for malicious apps to gather details from all of your notifications.

Windows 11 collects a significant amount of data, which might be a concern for those who value their privacy. Some data collection is necessary, such as information about your device model, hardware components, and diagnostic data to ensure Windows runs effectively. However, a large portion of it falls under the "optional" category. You don't need to share this optional data with Microsoft if you prefer not to. Below, we'll discuss six ways Windows 11 collects data on your new laptop and the steps you can take to opt out.

KVM switches (an abbreviation of keyboard, video, mouse switch) have been around for years in one form or another, allowing you to connect multiple devices to a tidy little box on your desk, and seamlessly move between PCs while your monitor(s), mouse, and keyboard come along with you. It is a time-saving productivity tool for anyone who uses multiple PCs, and can work with everything from Thunderbolt docks to your desktop. KVMs are also cheap, widely available, and can come with a range of features for every price point, including some that support up to 4K 120Hz across multiple monitors and even Thunderbolt connectivity. A KVM is essential to add to your setup if you use multiple machines (or a laptop docking station alongside a desktop machine), and here in no particular order are the reasons why.

Interestingly, Microsoft doesn't let you set up a copy of Windows 11 without an active internet connection. Unless, of course, you use a workaround to install it without connecting to a network. This also means you compulsorily need a Microsoft account to sign in as part of the process. Apart from privacy concerns, another drawback of setting up Windows 11 using a Microsoft account is that Windows automatically names the User folder with the first five letters of your email ID.

Whether your game of choice is Minecraft, Terraria, Palworld, or something totally different, setting up your own gaming server opens the door to a whole world of possibilities. You can host multiplayer sessions with friends, enjoy a seamless gaming experience without relying on third-party servers, and even customize your game settings, mods, and plugins. Whether you’re building a private Minecraft server or reminiscing about classic games, a dedicated server takes your gaming experience to the next level.

The Windows Forecast is a look at the future of Windows that comments on the latest news for Windows Insiders, as well as other major announcements in the Windows space each and every week. My name is João Carrasqueira, and I've been covering the world of Windows professionally since 2018. If there's something you'd like to see covered, you can reach me at [email protected].

Task Manager is one of the more useful tools for power users on Windows 11. Almost everyone uses it to some extent, particularly when an annoying app freezes and you need to kill it. For that usage, Task Manager does the job perfectly fine.

When 2.5-inch SATA SSDs finally became affordable, the popularity of hard drives naturally saw a huge dip. Switching from a hard drive to a SATA SSD promised an instant boost to system responsiveness, boot times, and game loading times. We had been using hard drives for ages, but when SATA SSDs offered three times the speed for only slightly higher prices, we jumped at the opportunity.

If the CPU and GPU are the brains of your PC build, your motherboard is the heart and soul. Everything travels across the motherboard in one way or another, making it one of the most crucial components in your rig. Budget boards can offer a suite of features that will be good enough for most, but when does it make sense to spend big?