Entertainment

Apple brings HLS video podcasts to Apple Podcasts

Video podcasts arrive

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Apple Podcasts video

Apple is adding a new video podcast experience to Apple Podcasts this spring, powered by HTTP Live Streaming (HLS).

The update lets users switch seamlessly between watching and listening inside the app. They can watch in full screen, rotate to horizontal view, and download episodes for offline viewing. HLS automatically adjusts video quality based on network conditions, whether on Wi-Fi or cellular.

Video episodes will also integrate with existing features. That includes personalized recommendations and editorial curation in the New tab and Category pages.

Apple says the move gives creators more control over distribution and monetization. Participating hosting providers and ad networks will support HLS video at launch, including Acast, ART19, Triton Digital, and SiriusXM.

For the first time on Apple Podcasts, creators can dynamically insert video ads, including host-read spots. This opens access to the broader video advertising market while keeping creative control in the hands of publishers. Video integrates into existing shows without affecting followers or downloads.

Apple does not charge hosting providers or creators to distribute podcasts on Apple Podcasts, whether via traditional RSS/MP3 or HLS video. However, the company will introduce an impression-based fee for participating ad networks that deliver dynamic ads in HLS video later this year.

The feature builds on Apple Podcasts’ existing reach across more than 170 countries and regions. The app supports features such as Enhance Dialogue, adjustable playback speeds from 0.5x to 3x, auto-generated chapters, timed links, and transcripts across more than 125 million episodes in 13 languages. Users can also subscribe to premium channels for exclusive content and ad-free listening.

HLS video podcast support is available starting today in beta versions of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4. The feature will roll out to iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro users, as well as on the web, later this spring.

Entertainment

Dune: Part Three teaser trailer: First look at Robert Pattinson’s Scytale

In cinemas this December

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Courtesy: Warner Bros. Studios

The countdown is officially on as Warner Bros. Pictures has released the teaser trailer for Dune: Part Three.

The epic conclusion to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” trilogy opens in cinemas and IMAX this December.

In addition, character posters have also been released. Here are some, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures:

The highly anticipated film stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Florence Pugh, Robert Pattinson, Anya Taylor-Joy and Isaach De Bankolé.

The trailer, meanwhile, gives an excellent first look at Pattinson as the main antagonist of the final installment, Scytale.

In the final movie, the plot jumps ahead 17 years after Chalamet’s Paul Atreides ascended to the throne.

There will be a dramatic change in the tone from the first two films, focusing more on psychological thriller instead of a war epic, given the visuals of the previous two installments.

Atreides is now a battle-hardened Emperor, struggling with the “Holy War” that has claimed 61 million lives.

Worse, Scytale will lead a conspiracy from within that attempts to overthrow the protagonist’s empire.

Pattinson’s character will mess with Atreides’ head instead of pure brawns, in a bid to wear him down. This presents the central conflict of the upcoming film.

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WATCH: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie final trailer

In cinemas this April

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Courtesy: Universal Studios

Universal Pictures has released the final trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which hits cinemas early next month.

Chris Pratt and Charlie Day return to play the iconic brothers Mario and Luigi, with the group getting bigger and more lovable with the addition of Donald Glover’s Yoshi.

Other actors returning to voice beloved characters from the franchise are:

  • Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
  • Jack Black as Bowser
  • Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
  • Brie Larson as Rosalina

Worth noting, the Captain Marvel and The Marvels lead actress, Larson, fulfills her dream as a Super Mario fan as her character makes her big-screen debut.

Courtesy: Universal Studios

In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the plumber brothers are sent into space to save Rosalina from the clutches of Bowser Jr.

Coming along for the ride are Princess Peach, Toad, and Yoshi, their newest companion.

More beloved characters will make their first big-screen appearances, including Pikmin, R.O.B., Birdo, and more.

The trailer also highlights some of the wonderful worlds the protagonists will visit, from the Preshistoric Falls to the Honeyhive Galaxy.

The film will show in theaters on April 1 in the United States and April 4 in the Philippines.

Watch the final trailer here:

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day first trailer hits hard — and gets weird

What’s happening to Peter?

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Spider-Man Brand New Day first trailer
All images are screenshots from the trailer

Spider-Man is back — and this time, it doesn’t feel safe.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day just dropped, and it’s equal parts heartbreaking, chaotic, and… a little unsettling. The kind of trailer that makes you pause halfway through and go, “Wait, what is happening to Peter?”

Because this isn’t just about swinging through New York anymore.

This is about what happens after Peter Parker chooses to disappear.

A lonelier Spider-Man

The trailer opens with Peter hanging upside down high above the city, quietly watching MJ and Ned Leeds celebrate their first day at MIT.

They’ve moved on. They’re happy. And Peter… doesn’t exist to them anymore.

That idea lingers through the next few scenes. He rehearses introductions like a stranger trying to fit in and washes his bloodied suit in a laundromat. He carries on as Spider-Man, even receiving a Key to the City — while Peter Parker fades into the background.

Things get violent, fast

Then the trailer flips.

We see a little moment between Frrank Castle (The Punisher) and Spidey. The exchange was lighthearted but also brutal. Spidey ends up immobilizing Frank and tells him to “Go home.” Could be a quick nod to Tom Holland’s “Home” trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

And in the middle of it all, Scorpion finally emerges as a major threat, alongside a brute with mechanical gauntlets and a swarm of red-clad ninjas.

This isn’t your usual friendly neighborhood lineup.

Something is wrong with Peter

And then there’s the part that really sticks.

Peter starts deteriorating. He looks sick. Sweaty. Unstable. At one point, he collapses completely.

Then comes the reveal: Peter trapped inside a massive web cocoon — before violently breaking out of it.

He seeks out Bruce Banner, who seems to confirm what we’re all thinking — something is very wrong with Peter’s DNA. His warning? Mutation at this level is dangerous.

Paired with the narration about a spider’s life cycle and Banner’s warning, it really feels like the film is setting up a Man-Spider arc. A version of Peter where the mutation goes too far. Where the line between hero and something else starts to blur.

If that’s where this is headed, Brand New Day might be the most unsettling Spider-Man story we’ve seen on screen.

And still… MJ

The trailer closes things out with a quiet moment.

Peter shows up at MJ’s door with flowers, trying to reconnect in the simplest way he can.

She smiles. Introduces herself. Like they’ve never met. And Peter, of course, plays along. Just a friendly neighbor from across the hall.

It’s soft. It’s painful. And it lands harder than any punch in the trailer.

I’m all in

Between Frank Castle’s brutality, Bruce Banner’s warning, the arrival of Scorpion, and the possibility of a full-on Man-Spider transformation…

Yeah. This one feels different.

Can’t wait. I’m so hyped.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is coming to theaters on July 31. In the Philippines, the movie will start showing on July 29.

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