ChatGPT is about to get worse

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Now, onto this week’s issue.

How ChatGPT is getting worse

Plus: AirPods’ sleep detection, Windows’ new Start menu, and a year of great apps

Jared Newman   |   January 20, 2026

Ads are coming to ChatGPT.

As part of a test in the U.S., they’ll soon appear underneath ChatGPT’s regular answers with a “Sponsored” label, and you’ll have to pay $20 per month for ChatGPT Plus (or a pricier business plan) to get rid of them.

The pivot to advertising is unsurprising given that OpenAI is burning though billions of dollars every quarter and that most people don’t pay for ChatGPT (because doing so is easily avoidable). But it’s also going to make ChatGPT worse in both obvious and subtle ways.

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News in brief

No more quick Verizon phone unlocks: Unlike AT&T and T-Mobile, Verizon currently unlocks its phones 60 days after activation, allowing you to test drive another carrier, use a competitor’s satellite data services, or buy a cheap local data plan while outside the U.S. That’s about to change, though, as the FCC is waiving the 60-day unlock rule that Verizon agreed to when it picked up some valuable wireless spectrum and acquired prepaid carrier TracFone.

Like its rivals, Verizon will likely start requiring customers to pay off their phones in full to get them unlocked, which can take three years with the carrier’s iPhone and Android phone deals. While Verizon says the quick unlock policy was leading to fraud, unwinding it will also prevent actual customers from doing things the carrier doesn’t like.

Spotify price hikes: Spotify is raising prices again, so it’s now $13 per month for individuals, $19 per month for couples, and $22 per month for families.

Some users may be able to downgrade to a $10.99 plan without audiobooks, but you can also still buy one-year individual subscriptions from Best Buy for $99, which saves you $57 over 12 months. I also have a guide to other streaming music options if you’re fed up with Spotify.

Want off the subscription treadmill entirely? Think about running your own media server instead.

Other notable news and reads:

Tip(s) of the week

AirPods sleep detection

I pretty much always wake up at some point during the night, and had been wondering why my usual sleep podcasts (The Empty Bowl and, more recently, Sleep with Me) had stopped playing on my AirPods.

Turns out that in switching from Android back to my iPhone over the winter break, I’d stumbled upon the new AirPods sleep detection feature in iOS 26, which automatically pauses whatever’s playing when you doze off. You can enable it on AirPods Pro (second-gen or higher) or fourth-gen AirPods by heading to Settings > (the name of your AirPods) and looking for “Pause Media When Falling Asleep.”

Apple hasn’t explained how the sleep detection works, though it likely relies on the earbuds’ motion sensors, and possibly the microphone to pick up on breathing patterns. I’m not sure if it’s enabled by default or if I’d turned it on inadvertently, but it’s helpful to avoid losing your spot and having audio playing all night.

What about Android? I haven’t tried this yet, but the venerable Sleep as Android app has a feature that pauses media when you fall asleep, using your phone’s activity sensors. You can enable it in the app’s Lullaby settings menu. Some earbuds that are designed for sleep, such as Ozlo and Anker’s Soundcore A30, also have auto-pause features built-in and work with iPhone and Android alike.

Windows’ new Start menu

Have you noticed that Windows 11’s Start menu looks different lately? Microsoft has been rolling out an update that makes the menu taller and wider while bringing your full program list directly onto the main page.

It seems like an improvement overall, but I don’t love having all my apps auto-categorized into folders. To see all your apps in alphabetical order, just click the “View: Category” dropdown, and select “Grid” or “List” instead.

A year of great apps

I didn’t get a chance to mention this earlier, but my customary best apps of the year roundup is live over at Fast Company. I’ve mentioned many of them in this newsletter over the past 12 months, but here are a few that I haven’t:

  • Antinote (Mac): A simple Mac notepad with calculation and list support, whose pages you can open and flip through with keyboard shortcuts. It’s a $5 one-time purchase after a free trial.
  • Shutter Declutter (iOS): My editor Harry McCracken actually recommended this one. Every day it highlights photos you’ve taken on the same day in previous years, and offers a slick interface for revisiting and deleting them. (My pal Rich DeMuro has also recommended Clever Cleaner, which is more utilitarian, but free.)
  • Iconfactory Tapestry (iOS, Mac): Combine your favorite news sites, blogs, YouTube channels, and social media accounts into one big feed.

See my full list of favorite new apps here. I also maintain a list of more than 400 useful apps for Advisorator members, arranged by category.

Spend wisely

Woot is having a sale on various Apple accessories when you use the code APPLEFIVE at checkout. The full product list is here, and some notable highlights are below:

The prices listed above won’t appear until you enter the code APPLEFIVE at checkout.

A couple other notable non-Apple deals:

One more Advisorator membership reminder

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Thanks for reading! Catch you next week.

Until then,
Jared

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