Once upon a time, Plex was a free app that was a fork of XBMC (Kodi) that you could use as a full-screen media player on a computer, or to stream media over a local network. And you can still use it for those things. But these days Plex also offers ad-supported TV & movie streaming, and subscription services that let you stream your personal media collection over the internet (so you can watch on vacation or share with friends), among other things.A Plex Pass subscription runs $7 per month or $70 per year. But the company has also always offered a Lifetime subscription option – I picked one up on sale for $75 back in 2017 because it seemed like a good deal for a service that I use occasionally, but not frequently. Those plans now go for $250… but Plex has announced that starting July 1, a Plex Pass Lifetime plan will go up to $750.That’s a massive increase… especially when there are free and open source alternatives like Jellyfin. But honestly, it kind of makes sense for a company like Plex to price the Lifetime subscription so high that nobody in their right minds would actually pay for it.Well, it would make sense for some companies anyway. The thing is, developing and supporting software takes time and resources. Charging a one-time fee for software that receives updates forever is a weird business model, which is probably why it used to be more common for companies to have you pay once for software and then pay to upgrade to the next major release. Add in the ongoing costs of maintaining cloud services and it makes sense that many companies have moved to subscription fees.Plex is in a weirder position because a lot of the features it hides behind a paywall aren’t necessarily hosted on the company’s servers. Instead, they apply to software running on your own hosted server, including the ability to skip intros or ads on DVR recordings, download media, or allow multiple users in different locations to connect to your (again, self-hosted) server.Anyway, as the company notes in a blog post announcing the price hike, Plex could have just killed the Lifetime subscription altogether. But instead the company decided to keep “it available at a price that reflects the real, ongoing value of the software we’re committed to building and maintaining for years to come.”Theoretically this still means that if you expect to use Plex for 11+ years, you’ll save money by purchasing a Lifetime subscription now… assuming Plex continues to honor that subscription. But in practice, I imagine most folks who don’t already have a Lifetime plan will just stick with a subscription, opt for the free plan, or look into Jellyfin or other solutions.Plex is raising its price from $250 to $750 in July. At that price, it’s unlikely many people will choose the lifetime option… and that’s kind of the point. Monthly/annual prices are remaining at $7 and $70, respectively. www.plex.tv/blog/new-lif…[image or embed]— Liliputing (@liliputing.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 11:36 AMFuri Labs is refreshing the FLX1S Linux smartphone with a new model called the FLX1S+ that brings a better camera, LED flash, and camera software update. With the original FLX1S out of stock, the FLX1S+ will be the company’s main phone moving forward. furilabs.com/blog/flx1s-i…[image or embed]— Liliputing (@liliputing.bsky.social) May 18, 2026 at 4:05 PMGoogle is expanding its smart glasses platforms with new Gemini-enabled “audio glasses” from Gentle Monster and Warby Parker coming later this year which pair with a phone. blog.google/products-and…[image or embed]— Liliputing (@liliputing.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 4:16 PMThere are signs in the latest Kindle firmware that Amazon will offer models with user-replaceable batteries in the future… at least in the European Union, where a new law requiring them takes effect next year. www.mobileread.com/forums/showt…[image or embed]— Liliputing (@liliputing.bsky.social) May 18, 2026 at 11:37 AMAnyone have a new business model for a niche tech blog? Asking for a friend… techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/g…[image or embed]— Liliputing (@liliputing.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 4:07 PMThe Trump Mobile T1 smartphone is finally about to ship, with NBC going hands-on with what appears to be a rebranded HTC U24 Pro with a gold back featuring a US flag that’s missing some stripes and the Truth Social app pre-installed. www.reddit.com/r/Android/co…[image or embed]— Liliputing (@liliputing.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 5:02 PMThe Anbernic RG DS is a $94 dual-screen handheld game console that originally with Android 14. But a new Linux-based OS that can boot from an SD card offers a custom UI & navigation optimized for dual screens. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKoD…[image or embed]— Liliputing (@liliputing.bsky.social) May 17, 2026 at 11:06 AMKeep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Bluesky or @[email protected] on Mastodon. You can also follow Liliputing on Threads and Facebook.