CrunchMoney

There always are new smartphones launched each year, but most of them don't get as much attention that the new iPhone or the Galaxy/Note receives. Sure, there are other successful and reputable smartphone brands such as Huawei, OnePlus, and the Pixel, but Apple and Samsung consistently steal the show. With their premium build and software, the iPhone and Galaxy dominate the smartphone market with advanced features that distinguish them from their competitors, such as Face ID and the Infinity Display. However, that does come at an expensive price as it appears that smartphones are starting to embrace the $1000 selling point, with the iPhone X initiating this new era and the Note 9 being the latest to join that trend. That doesn't hint a desirable future as other smartphone makers may eventually pursue that same route. However, the best way to appeal to the majority is through affordable phones that still house some of the best features of the premium phone. Apple hopes to ac...

As Apple's September event is rapidly approaching, technology enthusiasts and Apple fans are anxious to see the new products, particularly the new iPhones, a redesigned iPad Pro, and the Apple Watch Series 4. Leaks have suggested what each new product will look like. There will apparently be three new iPhones, one being the upgraded version of the iPhone X, one being its larger model (or Plus model), and one being the budget-end iPhone X model that will house an LCD display, rather than an OLED display to potentially bring the price down to around $700. Additionally, the iPad Pro will feature a design change with thinner bezels, no home button, rounded corners, and potentially Face ID. Lastly, the Apple Watch Series 4 will also include a redesign as the bezels will similarly reduce to appropriately fit in the modern world of less bezel and more display. So it appears that Apple is going to have some exciting products this year. And then soon enough, consumers will be anxious ...

Netflix users are angry again, and it's not anything similar to the crisis of separating the DVD and streaming services. Rather, the company is currently testing a feature in which it will place video promos for its original content in between TV episodes. In other words, after you conclude an episode, you will watch a short video about other Netflix TV shows or movies before continuing on to the next episode. Sounds a lot like the commercial break or advertisements you see on your cable TV. On the plus side though, Netflix will allow you to skip the video promos if they don't appeal to you. What is Netflix's reason behind this? How will this raise money for the company? Obviously, Netflix won't earn any money from this, and this feature will annoy its subscribers, which could cost it some revenue. Additionally, Netflix doesn't plan to introduce a more expensive plan in which users can automatically skip the ads (similar to YouTube Red) since the ads are skipp...

Things only seem to be getting worse for Moviepass. After a tireless summer of revising its popular subscription service from the introduction of surge pricing to increasing the subscription fee, the company stated last week that with its $10 monthly plan, users will be able to watch 3 movies of their choice, a drastic change from one year ago where the service allowed subscribers to watch a movie per day, which gave the service its "unlimited" brand. But now, the company is experimenting with another revision in which users will only be allowed to watch between two movies. On August 10, subscribers could only choose to watch critically-disdained horror film "Slender Man" or critically-acclaimed "Mission: Impossible Fallout." While "Mission: Impossible" would still be a good alternative, the showtimes were limited, being available only on 2:30PM and 10:45PM, for instance at an AMC in Times Square. Quite the opposite of "unlimited." ...

Samsung's Unpacked event revealed new technologies and flagships on August 9 that display the company's competence in hardware (but not software). It showcased three new products, some of which were leaked and expected, and some that surprised the audience. Here is a breakdown of what was new: Galaxy Note 9 Through many leaks and reports, the structure of the Galaxy Note 9 was predicted before its official unveiling. It is an upgrade from the Galaxy Note 8, featuring same shape and display, but there are notable improvements from the Note 8. The Note 9 emphasizes productivity, and its upgrades from the previous generation clearly illustrate this ambition. For example, the Note 9 comes with a larger battery of 4000mAh to accommodate the larger display and 512GB of internal storage, which added with a 512GB microSD card, will give the phone an insane storage of 1TB. The already-excellent camera is improved by including AI capabilities. For example, its Scene Optimizer...

Elon Musk is notorious for his outspoken statements on Twitter regarding announcements of Tesla and just being himself - a funny, ambitious individual. Well, on August 7, he went beyond his typical style and tone when he commented on a possibly eventual change to Tesla, which could greatly impact its business and its quest towards profitability. On that day, he tweeted that he was considering taking the company private, just after reports came out that Saudi Arabia invested $2B in Tesla and just one week later from reporting earnings. Using social media to announce such a large-scale change is unprecedented. His proclamation allowed the stock to rise 7%, which prompted the stock to temporarily cease trading as the SEC became doubtful whether Elon Musk's tweet was legitimate and not used for manipulative tactics to artificially increase the stock price. Additionally, Musk claimed that he had "funding secured" to ensure the action, but the sources for this funding are cu...

First, it introduced surge pricing, forcing users to pay an extra price for popular movies such as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom  and Incredibles 2 . Then, it suffered from a service outage after not having enough cash to fund its "processors" or "merchants," enraging users who were unable to use its card to buy tickets for Mission Impossible: Fallout during the movie's previews. And these issues occurred several times throughout the same week. Then, it planned to increase the price of its service while restricting access to view certain movies. Moviepass is approaching rock bottom. After persistently bleeding cash as it funds for users' tickets, the company is struggling to make fees, and its hopes for profitability have become more distant due to its depressing free cash flow. This has greatly affected its parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics and its stock HMNY as it is currently trading below a dollar, despite performing a 1-for-250 reverse st...