The company hasn't decided yet which devices will be affected or the extent of the increase. The Wall Street Journal estimates that base-model iPhones could see prices go up by more than $200.

Cook described the current situation with memory prices as the worst he has seen in his 40 years working in electronics, calling it a "hundred-year flood."

Why Apple Is Raising Prices and Where They’re Likely to Rise First

Last year, AI data centers began using most of the available DRAM and NAND production capacity, leading to supply issues that impacted consumer hardware.

Smartphone shipments hit historic lows, game consoles are nearing the $1,000 price point, and PC manufacturers are reviving older hardware to keep products available. Microsoft has stated it now spends four times as much on memory compared to late last year.

Apple's supply chain advantages have so far protected its products from most of these pressures. The company recently launched a $599 MacBook that caused significant attention in the laptop market, and it is planning to double the production of the MacBook Neo.

Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the company has been working to reduce the impact of rising memory costs while maintaining profit margins, but he also noted that the current situation has become unsustainable.

The full extent of the changes is likely to become public in September when Apple announces the iPhone 18 and the foldable iPhone Ultra. Prices for Mac and iPad models may increase earlier.

The hardware lineup for fall 2026 was already expected to be costly even before the memory shortage. Industry estimates suggest that the foldable iPhone Ultra will start at no less than $2,000.

The standard iPhone 18 is not expected to be released until 2027, so this year's lineup is likely to include the iPhone 18 Pro and the Ultra model.

An Ultra-tier MacBook with a touchscreen and Apple's next-generation M6 processor is also anticipated this year.

What This Round of Apple Price Hikes Means for Buyers

Users considering an Apple device purchase in 2026 should keep a few factors in mind. Current models priced at this time are likely to stay available only until stock runs out at retail stores, ahead of the September product cycle.

Trade-in values for older iPhones and Macs might increase as overall device prices go up, which could partially offset the cost hikes for users upgrading.

Refurbished and certified pre-owned Apple devices could become more appealing as new device prices increase. Cellular carriers’ financing options and trade-in promotions may also help cushion some of the price rise, depending on regional offers.

Users planning a major Apple purchase might find it beneficial to buy before the September announcement. Those not in urgent need of a new device may prefer to wait until the full pricing details are released to see if the increases are significant enough to influence their decision.

The AI Memory Supercycle and Its Impact on Devices

Industry analysts expect memory costs to stay high beyond 2027. This differs from typical memory market patterns, which usually result from supply shortages rather than persistent demand from a single end-use segment.

The ongoing buildout of AI infrastructure and the reallocation of fabrication capacity have led to what analysts are now calling a memory supercycle.

The smartphone market is projected to shrink by 15 percent in 2026, according to CCS Insight. Similar pressures are affecting the PC and console markets. For example, game console prices are already rising, and the Steam Deck recently experienced a 50 percent price increase.

Apple has not announced when the upcoming price changes will start or which products will be affected first.

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This information includes passport numbers, partial credit card details, and home addresses, all available through the airline's mobile API.

The issues were first reported to Frontier on March 3, 2026. As of June 18, 105 days later, the vulnerabilities remain unpatched.

What the API Exposes

Frontier's mobile API endpoint accepts a PNR and last name, then provides a full internal booking record for each passenger on the reservation.

The data available includes full home address details such as street, city, state, and ZIP code, as well as email address and phone number.

It also reveals complete date of birth information, including for minors, along with unmasked passport details like passport number, issuing country, and expiration date. Additionally, it exposes:

• The known Traveler Number, used for TSA PreCheck, and the
• The frontier Miles loyalty number. The credit card information includes the first six digits (BIN), the last four digits, the expiration date, the cardholder name, and the full billing address.
• The payment history data, complete with authorization codes, is also present.

Why the Credit Card Exposure Is Worse Than It Sounds

The exposure of credit card information is particularly significant. BobDaHacker explains that knowing the BIN (the first six digits) along with the last four digits reveals only five digits of the 16-digit card number.

The 16th digit is a check digit generated by the Luhn algorithm, which can be calculated from the other 15 digits. This leaves roughly 100,000 possible combinations for the middle digits that can be tested with a script in minutes.

Beyond its mobile API, BobDaHacker discovered that Frontier's website also leaks data through its Manage My Booking pages. The Passengers/Edit page, accessible with the same PNR and last name, shows full passport numbers, dates of birth, and KTNs, and the data is also embedded in a server-rendered JSON blob within the page source.

When Frontier previously tried to fix an earlier email leak on the Manage My Booking page, it introduced two new leaks, including one that exposed phone numbers.

A fourth vulnerability involved an endpoint that returned booking data from a PNR alone without requiring a last name; this was patched by Frontier.

The company sent the researcher a model airplane as acknowledgment. The remaining issues have not been fixed.

Disclosure Timeline And What Frontier Customers Should Do

BobDaHacker followed responsible disclosure practices. The initial vulnerability report was sent to Frontier on March 3, 2026, and multiple follow-ups were sent over the following months.

The formal 30-day disclosure deadline expired on June 12, 2026, without a response from Frontier. The public disclosure was published on June 18, 2026. As of now, Frontier has not issued a public statement.

Anyone who has flown with Frontier Airlines should take these steps to reduce their risk of exposure:

1. Never share photos of boarding passes on social media, even if you redact personal details, because the barcode also contains the PNR and last name.
2. Destroy printed boarding passes after travel instead of leaving them in trash bins where they could be recovered. Check credit card statements for any unauthorized charges, especially on cards used to book Frontier flights.
3. Consider requesting a new credit card number from your bank if you recently made a booking with Frontier. If your TSA PreCheck or passport details were exposed, monitor for signs of identity theft.

Customers concerned about specific bookings can ask Frontier to remove their personal data from past reservations, although this does not guarantee protection from future API access.

Why Frontier’s Booking System Design Makes This Vulnerability So Serious

A former Frontier employee told BobDaHacker that the company’s booking system, known internally as IBE, was already considered a legacy codebase.

The employee said the team had been discussing plans to sunset and replace it. "IBE was a mess of generated config and code that only one person was senior enough to handle. Everyone else basically danced around it," the former employee wrote.

The vulnerability is notable for its scale, as anyone with a Frontier boarding pass could be affected, and for the airline's lack of action over more than three months following responsible disclosure.

Industry-standard timelines for responsible disclosure usually range from 30 to 90 days. Frontier has exceeded both.

This incident also underscores a broader issue: PNRs are printed on boarding passes because they are not considered secret. Building security around a boarding pass identifier creates risks for any airline.

In Frontier's case, their API treats the combination of PNR and last name as enough authentication to unlock complete passenger records, including financial and travel document data.

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According to user reports on Reddit, the issue has been appearing over the past 24 hours. Google has not yet acknowledged the problem.

The bug seems to be limited to Pixel phones and is not associated with a specific Gmail version or Android build. The issue has been confirmed on a Pixel 8 Pro running the stable Android 17 update.

What Pixel Users Are Seeing and Known Workarounds

When replying to an email in the Gmail app, users affected by the issue see AI-suggested autocomplete options and 'Help me write' suggestions at the bottom of the screen.

However, tapping the cursor in the reply field does not bring up Gboard or any other keyboard, preventing users from typing a response.

The bug has so far been tested on Galaxy S23 Ultra and Vivo X300 Ultra devices, where it does not occur, indicating that it appears to be specific to Pixel devices.

Several solutions have been identified that can temporarily restore keyboard functionality:

1. Enable auto-rotate and switch the phone to landscape mode. The keyboard should appear, after which you can rotate back to portrait and continue typing.
2. Attach an image to the email and then return to the editor; this may also prompt the keyboard to appear.
3. Restarting the phone is another option. You can also clear the Gmail app cache by going to Settings, Apps, Gmail, Storage and cache, then selecting Clear cache.
4. Force closing Gmail through Settings, Apps, Gmail, and tapping Force stop can help as well.

For users unable to get any workaround to work, switching to an alternative email client such as Outlook, Spark, or Proton Mail may be a temporary solution while Google works on a fix.

What This Gmail Bug Likely Means

Gmail is among Google's most popular Android apps, and a bug that prevents basic email replies on Pixel devices is a notable issue.

The sudden appearance of this problem without an obvious recent update suggests the cause might be related to a server-side rollout or an A/B test rather than a client-side bug, though this has not been confirmed.

Google has not provided a timeline for a fix. Users affected by the bug should expect a server-side or app update soon.

Until then, the listed workarounds remain the most reliable way to reply to emails on affected Pixel devices.

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The game is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A version for PC has not yet been confirmed.

The pre-order date is part of Rockstar's larger marketing strategy, which Take-Two Interactive indicated would increase in intensity over the summer.

What GTA 6 Pre-Orders Open With and How to Pre-Order

Rockstar has not announced any details yet, including special editions or tiered pre-order packages, pricing, or specific pre-order bonuses.

Since GTA Online has supported GTA 5 for more than a decade, early pre-order incentives might include items like early access cosmetics, in-game currency, or exclusive vehicles for the online mode when GTA 6 is released.

The official cover art is the first major piece of marketing material released ahead of launch, following the trailers and screenshots that were previously shared.

Pre-orders will become available on June 25 through several platforms. Customers can visit Rockstar Games' official website at rockstargames.com/VI, where the game will be listed.

It will also be available on the PlayStation Store and the Microsoft Store, with the option to wishlist the game on both storefronts. Users can add the game to their wishlist now to receive a notification when pre-orders open.

Context

GTA 6 has become the focal point of the gaming industry's 2026 release schedule. A Plague Tale developer, Asobo, recently confirmed that studios worldwide have planned their release calendars around the November launch, with most major fall titles scheduled within a six-week window before GTA 6's debut.

Despite being more than a decade old, GTA 5 continues to sell over a million copies each quarter, with PS5 sales alone estimated at 1.8 million copies for 2026.

The ongoing sales of GTA 5 and revenue from GTA Online have provided Rockstar with the financial flexibility to delay GTA 6 multiple times, allowing the studio to meet its standards.

Analysis of Rockstar North's financial documents indicates that the studio has spent more than $2 billion on the development of GTA 6. Industry estimates suggest the game could sell up to 45 million copies on PS5 in its first week.

GTA 6 is set to launch on November 19, 2026, with pre-orders opening on June 25.

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Some entry-level phones have seen their prices rise by over 50% since last year. The primary smartphone market shrank by 4.4% in the first quarter of 2026, despite carriers stockpiling inventory, indicating further declines are likely for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, the used phone market is projected to grow by 15%, as consumers increasingly turn to pre-owned devices to avoid higher prices on new models.

What’s Driving Smartphone Price Increases in 2026

The ongoing demand for memory components driven by AI infrastructure development is the main reason behind rising prices.

Chipmakers have shifted focus toward producing high-margin memory for AI servers, rather than standard DRAM and NAND used in PCs and smartphones.

This change differs from the typical memory market cycle, where prices usually increase due to supply shortages. Instead, the current pressure stems from demand, with hyperscalers utilizing production capacity that would otherwise serve consumer devices.

Throughout this year, pricing pressure has steadily intensified:

• In January 2026, forecasts indicated handset prices could rise by 6 to 8 percent, with a worst-case scenario of a 5.2 percent market contraction.
• By February 2026, projections had shifted to roughly 14 percent price increases and about 8 percent declines in shipments.
• In June 2026, CCS Insight projected a total shipment decline of 15 percent for the year.

According to CCS Insight analyst Ben Hatton, memory components now make up more than 30 percent of the bill of materials in some smartphones.

"The memory chip crisis shows no sign of slowing down any time soon," Hatton said. "It is increasing pressure on both manufacturers and consumers.

The full effects are still unfolding in many regions, but it's clear that device prices will continue to rise over the course of the year."

Budget devices are hit hardest because memory and storage make up a larger share of their overall costs. Flagship phones can handle price increases better since features like high-quality cameras and displays account for a bigger part of their expenses.

Entry-level models have less flexibility to absorb these cost increases without significant price hikes, which explains the more than 50% jump seen on some models.

Used Phone Market Grows as New Device Sales Slide

The secondary market for used devices grew by 4% in the first quarter as consumers looking for more affordable options turned to pre-owned phones. CCS Insight predicts this segment will expand by 15% across 2026.

However, supply in the used phone market faces some challenges. Replacement cycles have lengthened, with many consumers now holding onto their devices for more than four years instead of the typical two. As a result, fewer new device sales lead to fewer trade-ins entering the used market.

"The secondary market has the potential to meet some of the demand that the primary market cannot fulfill," said Hatton. "The main challenge in the near term is increasing supply during this period when flagship device launches are scarce."

Countries with established trade-in programs are in a better position to expand their secondary market supply. Europe is expected to see slower growth in this area because less than a third of European consumers trade in or sell their old phones.

What This Means for Buyers, and How Long Higher Phone Prices Could Last

If you’re planning to buy a new phone in 2026, expect prices to be noticeably higher than they were a year earlier, especially for budget models.

To make the most of your purchase, consider buying earlier in the year, as prices are likely to keep going up. You might also look into certified refurbished or pre-owned devices, which are becoming more common. Holding onto your current device longer aligns with the trend of extending replacement cycles.

Additionally, exploring mid-range or older flagship phones could offer better value than new budget devices, given the current pricing trends.

The memory supercycle is expected to continue through at least 2028 based on current capacity allocations and projections for AI infrastructure demand.

CCS Insight has not specified when memory prices might return to typical levels seen in consumer devices, but ongoing growth in AI infrastructure suggests that relief in prices is unlikely in the near term.

The factors influencing phone prices also affect PCs and other devices that depend on DRAM and NAND memory. As a result, users can expect similar pressure on laptop and desktop prices for the rest of this year and into 2027.

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The device is the first audio hub built from the ground up around the new Gemini for Home voice assistant. It was first shown in October 2025 and underwent nine months of development before its launch.

Anish Kattukaran, Google's Chief Product Officer for Google Home and Nest, said the company used that development time to reduce Gemini command latency by up to 40 percent and fix over 2,500 reported bugs.

What’s Different About Gemini for Home on the New Google Home Speaker

The new speaker is built for conversational interaction rather than strict command phrases. Users can issue multiple commands within a single sentence, use logical reasoning in their requests, and correct themselves mid-sentence without restarting. It allows for natural speech without needing to memorize specific phrases.

To support this, the device runs local models for noise cancellation, echo suppression, and sound separation. This on-device processing helps ensure commands are heard clearly even in noisy environments and are processed quickly without relying on cloud services.

Smart Home Integration, Hardware, and Audio on the Google Home Speaker

The device serves as both a Matter controller and a Thread 1.3 border router, enabling local connectivity for nearby smart home devices.

It acts as a central hub for users who are part of the cross-platform Matter ecosystem, offering an alternative to being limited to Google-only devices.

The speaker has a slightly compressed round design wrapped in a custom 3D-knit textile, with capacitive touch buttons and a new underglow light ring.

Google is marketing it as an audio upgrade over the Nest Mini rather than a direct replacement for the larger Nest Audio. Its smaller size makes it easier to place, while still providing balanced 360-degree sound.

Two speakers can be paired for stereo audio. They can also connect directly to the new Google TV Streamer to deliver spatial surround sound in home theater setups.

Compatibility, Pre-Order Bonus, and Availability

Users testing Gemini for Home through the early access program on older devices like the Nest Audio won't be left behind.

Gemini for Home continues to work on legacy Nest speakers, although Google notes that the new $99 speaker is designed specifically to provide the most responsive experience due to its on-device hardware.

The Google Home Speaker is available in standard Hazel and Porcelain finishes, with two exclusive colors for the US market: Jade and Berry.

Customers who buy the speaker before mid-September will receive six months of Google Home Premium free of charge. Google values this subscription at $60, noting that it provides access to features such as Gemini Live for seamless conversations, Camera History Search for Nest Cams, and automated Home Briefs.

The Google Home Speaker can now be pre-ordered and will ship on June 25. You can place pre-orders through Best Buy, Walmart, or the Google Store.

Google has not yet announced international release dates beyond the initial launch in the United States.

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The document was published alongside the Firefox 152 update. Some of the features listed have already been introduced, while others are being announced for the first time.

The release coincides with a decline in Firefox's desktop market share, which has dropped from 5.88% in May 2025 to 3.79% in May 2026, according to Statcounter.

Productivity Updates and New Privacy & Security Additions in Firefox

The roadmap highlights several enhancements aimed at boosting productivity. It includes a redesign of the Nova interface, which was previously announced as a major update to the user interface.

Support for tab groups on mobile devices is also part of the plan. Mozilla is adding customizable keyboard shortcuts, a feature they say is among the most requested by users.

Additionally, there are improvements to PDF editing tools, allowing users to split, merge, and reorder files more easily. A redesigned Settings page is already available in Firefox 152.

Mozilla is expanding its privacy features in Firefox to mobile devices:

• The built-in VPN will now be available on mobile platforms in addition to desktop. On
• iOS, Firefox will receive basic ad and tracker blocking capabilities without the need for external add-ons.

This mobile VPN expansion comes after Mozilla's current promotional offer, which provides Firefox users with unlimited VPN bandwidth and access to 28 countries through August 31.

AI Features With User Control, Plus Performance and Web Standards Improvements

Firefox is introducing optional AI features, including a "Quick Answers" tool that allows users to speak with chatbots using voice commands.

Mozilla has highlighted that Firefox is approaching AI differently from other browsers, giving users control over the LLM-based capabilities. Those who prefer not to use AI features can choose to disable them.

Firefox 152 adds experimental support for the JPEG XL image format. HDR video support is also arriving on Windows and Linux systems, fulfilling a request that has been open for more than six years on Mozilla's bug tracker.

Support for Web APIs and built-in safety protections will remain a focus in upcoming releases.

Market Share Context and What the Firefox Roadmap Means for Users

Despite active development efforts, Firefox continues to lose users. Statcounter reports that the browser's desktop market share fell from 5.88% in May 2025 to 3.79% in May 2026. The decline has been steady, with Chrome remaining dominant and Edge gaining ground.

Mozilla recently announced an increase of six million users in EU markets following the rollout of browser choice screens under the Digital Markets Act, but the overall trend remains negative.

The roadmap shows that Mozilla is working on features that long-time Firefox users have asked for, including HDR support, customizable shortcuts, and better tab management.

Expanding the built-in VPN to mobile devices and adding ad blocking on iOS may appeal to users who prioritize privacy.

For those who have stayed with Firefox despite its declining market share, new features will be released gradually over the next few updates.

For users who have switched to Chromium-based browsers, the question is whether these upcoming features and Firefox's continued stance against features like Manifest V3 will be enough to bring them back.

The Firefox roadmap is openly published and available on Mozilla's website. While Mozilla has not set specific release dates for all items, it has indicated that several will be rolled out in upcoming updates.

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This change assigns a new purpose to data that Google already collects, transitioning from network routing to device identification for advertising purposes. The update also triggers consent requirements under UK and EU privacy laws.

Google describes this shift as focusing on privacy-enhancing technologies, including on-device processing, trusted execution environments, and secure multi-party computation.

Some controls for IP-based personalization will not be available until later this year or early next year.

What’s Actually Changing and Why It Matters for the UK and EU

Google already collects IP addresses through customer tags, SDKs, HTTP requests, and uploads. This data is used for routing traffic and delivering advertisements.

Starting August 3, however, the purpose shifts: the same IP addresses will also be used to identify devices for measurement and ad personalization.

Google will also register under the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework for Feature 3, which is about identifying devices based on information transmitted automatically.

Under the framework, Feature 3 is the method for distinguishing devices using data they send automatically, including IP addresses. It is not a consent step in itself; rather, it relates to personalization purposes that require user consent rather than legitimate interest.

IP addresses fall under the category of personal data under GDPR. Using an IP address to identify a device is a fundamental part of fingerprinting, which is a method used to track devices even when cookies are blocked or cleared. Google previously argued that fingerprinting undermines user choice.

In 2019, Justin Schuh, then the Chrome engineering director, stated that fingerprinting was problematic because users could not clear it in the same way they clear cookies.

However, Google changed its stance in December 2024, removing its ban on fingerprinting for advertisers.

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office, or ICO, called Google's reversal in December 2024 "irresponsible" within a day of the announcement.

The ICO's Position

The timing of the August 3 rollout has raised concerns in light of recent ICO guidance. On May 18, 2026, the ICO provided advice to the UK government regarding potential updates to online advertising regulations.

The ICO's preferred approach allows some advertising without user consent only when it is based on the context being viewed, rather than a person's activity over time. Consent remains necessary for tracking that creates profiles across multiple services.

Under the ICO's framework, personalization based on IP addresses across different platforms falls on the side requiring consent. The ICO has emphasized that no changes have been implemented yet and that current rules continue to apply.

Google sent an email to advertisers, emphasizing that they are still responsible for compliance. The message reminded them that they must adhere to Google's EU User Consent Policy and obtain valid consent from users in the relevant regions.

What Users Can Do Now and What Comes Next

The option for users to choose IP-based personalization on Google's own properties will not be available until later in the rollout.

Until then, the controls users can access include declining non-essential cookies and consent prompts when they appear, reviewing ad personalization settings at myadcenter.google.com under their Google account, and using browsers with built-in tracking protection, such as Firefox or Brave, which impose additional restrictions on tracking.

Users can also use a VPN to mask their IP address from advertising endpoints, although this changes the IP rather than eliminating it as an identifier.

To see what personalization features are currently active, users should sign in to myadcenter.google.com, review the topics and demographics Google associates with their account, and disable any categories they do not want used for ad targeting.

It's still unclear whether Google's August 3 update will meet the ICO's preferred consent standards. The ICO has not yet confirmed if enforcement actions will follow if IP-based personalization is used without obtaining consent that aligns with UK regulations.

Google has not announced specific dates for when the IP personalization controls that users see will be available on its sites.

Advertisers using Google's services have been notified of the changes and are responsible for making sure they comply with consent requirements in the regions affected.

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The company met with White House officials in Washington this week to try to reverse or limit the measures announced on Friday.

After the order, Anthropic completely shut down Fable 5, citing the difficulty of filtering non-US nationals in real time. The company is now working with the government to find a solution.

Background and Why Cybersecurity Experts Are Backing Anthropic

Anthropic released Fable 5 as a consumer-facing version of its Mythos-class model architecture, with guardrails in place to block sensitive queries related to cybersecurity, biology, and chemistry.

The model was made available for free to Pro, Max, and Enterprise users for a limited period ending June 22.

Concerns about potential jailbreak vulnerabilities arose from Amazon's cybersecurity research team.

The issue was escalated to the White House by Amazon's CEO, leading the U.S. government to impose restrictions on foreign access to the model. In response, Anthropic took Fable 5 offline for all users.

This isn’t the first time Anthropic has faced tension with the U.S. government. In March, the Pentagon labeled Anthropic as a supply chain risk and instructed federal agencies to stop using its models after the company declined to allow its products to be used for autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance.

A federal judge has ruled that the Pentagon’s directive cannot be enforced while Anthropic's lawsuit against the designation is ongoing.

Dozens of cybersecurity leaders have signed an open letter urging the US government to lift restrictions on Fable 5. The letter states that Anthropic "built multiple protections into the Fable model to prevent its use for cyber offensive purposes."

The signatories argue that the jailbreak technique cited by White House officials applies equally to other publicly available models, meaning that restricting Fable 5 specifically does not address the core issue.

The letter warns that removing a model as capable as Fable in cybersecurity tasks "while US adversaries are rapidly advancing is dangerous."

Export control experts have also questioned whether the US government has the legal authority to impose the restrictions in their current form. Their objections add a legal dimension to a dispute that now involves technical, security, and regulatory questions.

The US Government’s Position on Fable 5 So Far

The US government has not publicly explained the specific concerns behind the restrictions. Reuters reports that officials are seeking reassurance from Anthropic that the model will not be used to harm US citizens.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick took part in discussions and is expected to continue talks with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei during the G7 meetings in France. National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross also attended the meetings.

Anthropic's earlier review of the jailbreak cited found that it uncovered a small number of minor vulnerabilities that are already known and could be discovered by other publicly available models without bypass techniques.

What This Suspension Means for Users, and Why the Case Matters

Fable 5 and Mythos 5 are currently offline for all users as negotiations continue. Anthropic has not provided an estimated timeline for their return.

Users of Pro, Max, and Enterprise who activated Fable 5 during the free preview are unable to access the service at this time. Other Claude models, such as Opus 4.8, remain available and are not affected by these restrictions.

The dispute is becoming a key example of how aggressively governments might regulate cutting-edge AI systems. The outcome could influence how AI companies handle export controls, security reviews, and government access requests in the future.

It may also determine whether national security concerns lead to product-level restrictions or broader regulations across the industry.

Anthropic has not provided a timeline for when Fable 5 might be available again. The upcoming G7 meetings in France could offer the next public updates on the negotiations.

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SpaceX is paying entirely with shares, taking advantage of the high stock price following its record IPO four days ago.

The deal comes as a response to challenges faced by SpaceXAI, the internal division created when SpaceX absorbed Elon Musk's xAI earlier this year.

SpaceXAI has struggled to develop a competitive coding product, while Cursor has become one of the most widely used AI coding tools among professional engineers.

Deal Structure: How SpaceX Is Paying $60 Billion

SpaceX is paying with stock instead of cash, allowing the company to use its recently increased share price as currency. Shares have risen more than 56 percent from the $135 IPO price, briefly surpassing Amazon to become the fifth most valuable company in the world.

Investor Bill Ackman commented on X that the all-stock structure costs "materially less in dilution" because of SpaceX's high valuation.

The termination fees include:

• A $10 billion breakup fee if the deal falls through under most circumstances
• A $4 billion fee if the failure is due to antitrust issues. In April

SpaceX disclosed an option to purchase Cursor at the same $60 billion valuation with the same $10 billion breakup fee, holding off on completing the acquisition until after its IPO.

About Cursor

Cursor is an AI coding tool that allows developers to write, debug, and modify code using natural-language prompts.

It has become one of the most widely adopted AI coding assistants among professional engineering teams. Customers include Stripe, Adobe, and Nvidia.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has described Cursor as his "favorite enterprise AI service." The tool reportedly generates around $2.6 billion in annualized B2B revenue, with enterprise sales growing rapidly.

Cursor competes directly with GitHub Copilot, Anthropic's Claude Code, and OpenAI's Codex.

Why SpaceX Is Buying Cursor and What It Means for Current Users

SpaceX focused most of its IPO pitch on AI, telling investors it sees a $26 trillion market in space, including a $22.7 trillion opportunity in enterprise applications. Efforts to build a competitive coding product internally have not been successful.

Acquiring Cursor provides what SpaceXAI has been unable to develop on its own: a coding tool that developers actually use. The acquisition secures an immediate position in the enterprise AI coding market for SpaceX, along with the customer relationships and revenue stream Cursor has already established.

The key question for current Cursor users is whether the tool's model-agnostic design will be maintained. At present, Cursor runs on Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's GPT, and its own Composer models simultaneously.

The ability to switch between models has been an important part of what makes Cursor appealing.

SpaceX has announced plans to release an AI model directly on Cursor, which the two companies have been jointly training for several months.

Whether SpaceX will make Grok the primary backend or keep multi-model support to maintain Cursor's market position will be the clearest indicator of how the integration will function in practice.

For now, Cursor remains operational, and existing model integrations are still in use. SpaceX has not provided any timelines for changes to the product following the acquisition.

Context

The Cursor deal comes amid a period of significant consolidation in the tech industry, especially within AI.

Fox announced it will acquire Roku for $22 billion this week, while Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX have all filed for IPOs scheduled for 2026. AI coding tools are becoming one of the most successful categories in AI products, with multiple companies generating substantial revenue from enterprise clients.

The deal still requires regulatory approval. SpaceX has not provided a timeline for closing the deal. Due to the $60 billion valuation and antitrust-related breakup fee, the transaction is expected to attract close scrutiny from regulators in the US, EU, and other regions.

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The update introduces a new app-windowing feature called Bubbles, along with more detailed controls for sharing location and contacts, and support for Live Updates on Wear OS.

Some of Google's most promoted features from Google I/O, including Gemini Intelligence, are not part of the initial rollout. They are expected to arrive later this summer on select advanced devices.

Bubbles Multitasking and More Granular Privacy Controls in Android 17

Android 17 has introduced Bubbles, a feature that brings the messaging-style bubble interface to general apps. When an app is Bubbled, it floats over other applications as a draggable icon.

Tapping the icon opens or closes the app window. Multiple apps can be Bubbled at once, showing as icons at the top of the floating window, which allows users to switch between apps quickly without leaving their current task. While this feature is especially useful on foldables and tablets, it also works on phones.

Android 17 introduces more granular permission controls for location and contact access.

Users now have the option to grant temporary access to precise location, offering a middle ground between blocking precise location entirely, which can cause some apps to stop working, and granting indefinite access.

Additionally, users can choose to share only specific contacts with an app, rather than the entire address book, similar to how file and media access are managed on Android.

These updates respond to longstanding concerns that many apps require "precise" location to function properly, leaving users with a choice between full disclosure and limited app functionality.

Live Updates on Wear OS 7 and New Device Controls From the Watch

Live Updates, the feature introduced with Android 16 last year that provides real-time notifications for food delivery, timers, and fitness tracking, is now available on Wear OS 7.

The watch versions are optimized for smaller screens but otherwise work the same as on phones.

Wear OS 7 introduces new features for managing connected devices. The media player on the watch now includes an output switcher that allows users to switch audio between Bluetooth headphones, smart speakers, and other connected devices without needing voice commands.

Google specifically mentioned that this feature will be compatible with "intelligent eyewear" launching this fall. This suggests integration with devices like the Gucci XR glasses, developed in partnership with Kering, or similar upcoming products. The output switcher also supports other smart home audio devices.

What’s Not Yet Available and How the Android 17 / Wear OS 7 Rollout Works

Several key features announced at Google I/O 2026 are not included in the initial Android 17 release

Gemini Intelligence, which enables deeper integration with apps and services for tasks such as ordering food and buying tickets, will be available later this summer on "select advanced devices.

" The Create My Widget" feature, a generative AI tool that allows users to describe a widget for Gemini to build automatically and syncs with Wear OS as Tiles, is also expected to arrive later.

Google has not provided specific dates or a list of compatible devices for these features.

Android 17 and Wear OS 7 are starting to roll out today to Pixel phones and Pixel Watch devices. Samsung Galaxy and other Android phones will begin receiving the update next month. The timing of the rollout for other OEMs has not been announced.

Users interested in installing the update should check Settings, then System, and Software update on their device.

Wear OS 7 updates are delivered via the watch companion app on the paired phone.

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The complaint was filed in federal court in Seattle by the City of St. Clair Shores Police and Fire Retirement System, based in Michigan.

Microsoft has dismissed the allegations as without merit and said it will defend itself in court. "Microsoft stands by the integrity of its public statements and will vigorously defend itself," the company stated.

What the Lawsuit Alleges and How Microsoft’s Stock Has Performed

The shareholders allege that Microsoft portrayed its partnership with OpenAI as strong and stable despite ongoing fragmentation between the two companies.

They also claim that Microsoft promoted Copilot adoption more aggressively than the results warranted. Additionally, they argue the company failed to adequately disclose or played down the financial commitments needed to build the data centers required for advanced AI models.

The complaint further states that Microsoft did not properly disclose a decline in cloud revenue while continuing to invest billions in AI infrastructure without seeing proportionate returns.

Overall, the complaint suggests that Microsoft's public statements about AI progress were misleading, inflating the stock price while underlying weaknesses in the cloud business went unreported.

Microsoft's stock declined 25 percent in the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, marking its steepest quarterly loss since the 27 percent drop in late 2008. This decrease reflects investor concerns about whether AI investments are delivering proportional returns.

For the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year Microsoft reported a 39 percent growth in revenue from Azure and its cloud business, meeting analyst expectations but slightly down from 40 percent in the previous quarter. The company projects a growth rate of 37 to 38 percent for the first three months of 2026.

Microsoft also increased its capital spending to 37.5 billion dollars, a roughly 66 percent rise compared to the previous year and higher than the 34.3 billion dollars anticipated by analysts.

Looking ahead, Microsoft plans to invest approximately 146 billion dollars in AI infrastructure during 2026, nearly doubling the 88 billion dollars spent in 2025.

Internal Concerns About Azure and Community Pushback on AI Data Centers

Axel Rietschin, a former Microsoft engineer who worked on Azure Core Compute and spent nearly ten years on the Windows Base Kernel, has publicly stated that Microsoft rushed its Azure AI products to market to keep up with Google and Amazon.

Rietschin says this quick rollout caused a talent drain and led to issues with software quality. He also notes that the hype surrounding AI has left Microsoft's cloud business more fragile.

Microsoft's AI infrastructure expansion has met resistance from local communities concerned about water use and electricity demands for data centers.

In response, the company has introduced a "Community-First" approach to its AI infrastructure, committing to reduce water consumption and avoid increasing local electricity bills.

Recently, CEO Satya Nadella announced a new cooling technology called full immersion, which Microsoft claims will cut data center water use to levels comparable to what a single restaurant would consume. The technology has not yet been deployed on a large scale.

What This Shareholder Lawsuit Could Mean for Microsoft Investors

The lawsuit is a formal legal challenge to Microsoft's AI claims, which are among the more heavily promoted in the industry. If the case moves forward, discovery could reveal internal communications about Copilot adoption metrics, tensions in the OpenAI partnership, and infrastructure cost forecasts.

Microsoft's confidence in its AI strategy stands in contrast to increasing skepticism in the wider market about whether enterprise AI investments will lead to revenue growth at the speed that many tech companies have suggested.

The case could become a reference point for similar lawsuits if other AI companies report disappointing results that fall short of investor expectations.

The case has not yet entered the discovery phase. Microsoft has made no announcements about changes to its AI strategy or spending plans in response to the lawsuit.

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That puts GamersHell squarely in Ghacks territory. Free web utilities that run without a signup or a setup step are a core beat here. What separates GamersHell from the typical free games site is restraint. Rather than auto importing thousands of near identical clones, it keeps the library small and deliberately chosen, so you browse a tight shortlist instead of an endless feed.

What is GamersHell?

GamersHell is a free online games portal with a catalog of 600 titles, organized into 10 categories. Each game is selected by hand rather than auto-aggregated, plays through HTML5 and JavaScript in a normal browser tab, and loads on both desktop and mobile. The catalog is trilingual, and each language version orders its homepage by local search demand, so Dutch visitors land on Woordzoekers, German visitors on Kreuzworträtsel, and English visitors on Solitaire.

In short: GamersHell is a free, install-free games site built around a focused, curated library instead of raw volume.

What game categories does GamersHell offer?

GamersHell organizes its library into ten categories. The categories, with approximate catalog sizes where the site lists them, are below:

• Puzzle Games (around 189 titles)
• Driving Games (around 91 titles)
• Shooting Games (around 81 titles)
• Two Player Games (around 50 titles)
• Solitaire Games (around 43 titles)
• IO Games (around 35 titles)

On top of the categories, 26 tags surface the most searched variants, including Spider Solitaire, Car Racing, and Crossword. That tag layer is how the site points players straight at a sub-genre instead of making them dig.

Which games are featured on GamersHell?

The featured games span the heaviest categories, and a representative pick from each cluster shows the range:

• Two Player: Ludo King, Castle Wars: Legacy, Dominoes Classic Duel, and a web build of Fall Guys for same-device or matched online play.
• Solitaire: Classic Spider Solitaire, Spider Solitaire 3D, Klondike Solitaire Turn 3, and Klondike Solitaire Pro, covering one-suit through four-suit difficulty.
• Driving: Car Racing 3D: Extreme Dodge, Crazy Traffick Racing 2026, Daily Street Racing 3D, and Drifty Race Challenge, spanning street racing, drifting, and stunt courses.
• IO Multiplayer: Knife vs Sword.io, Fidget Spinner.io, and PenguinBattle.io, which drop you into real-time arenas with no install.
• Puzzle: 2048 Premium, Cube Merge Game, Ball Sort Master 3D, and Tower Blocks Deluxe 3D, covering number-merging, sorting, and physics mechanics.
• Word: Word Search, Crossword, Image Crossword, and Word Search 2025.
• Shooting: Cars vs Zombies, Bull Time Shooter, Forest Archer, and Gunman, across sniper, target, and zombie-wave formats.

Puzzle is the largest category by count, but GamersHell lists Two-Player and Solitaire as its most played games on the English catalog.

How do GamersHell's browser games work?

GamersHell games run inside the browser using HTML5 and JavaScript, with WebGL handling graphics. Since Adobe Flash was retired in 2020, no plugin is needed, and current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari handle the catalog on desktop and mobile.

Single-player games save progress to your browser's local storage, so a half-finished Solitaire board or a puzzle score is still there when you reopen the tab on the same browser and device, with no account involved. Multiplayer titles, including the IO arenas and two-player matchmaking, use WebSocket and WebRTC to sync moves in real time, so those need an active connection but still no download.

Is GamersHell free, and is it safe to play?

GamersHell is free to play, funded by advertising on game and category pages rather than by a paywall or premium tier. Browsers run each game inside a security sandbox that separates game code from your operating system, and the catalog does not ask players to download installers or grant system permissions, which keeps the risk profile in line with any reputable browser-games site.

Why GamersHell is worth bookmarking

The free online browser games space is crowded with portals that auto-import thousands of near-identical titles, so a site that caps itself at roughly 600 hand-picked games is doing something different. The trilingual setup is also unusual at this size, with separate EN, NL, and DE catalogs ordered by local demand rather than a single English library run through a translator. GamersHell also rotates new games into the catalog on a regular basis, so no category sits dormant.

The trade-offs are the ones you would expect from a free, ad-supported portal. Game and category pages carry ads, and a few games offer optional leaderboard signups, though those are never required to play. For quick sessions of solitaire, a word puzzle, or a two-player match without installing anything, GamersHell is a reasonable bookmark.

GamersHell FAQ

Is GamersHell free?

Yes, every game on GamersHell is free to play. Advertising on game and category pages funds the model, so there is no paywall or premium tier.

Do you need to download anything?

No. All games are browser-only and use HTML5 and JavaScript. No plugin is required after the Flash retirement in 2020.

Are GamersHell games safe to play?

Yes, on a reputable site. Modern browsers run each game in a security sandbox, and no game in the catalog requests installer downloads or system permissions.

Can you play GamersHell games on mobile?

Yes, GamersHell catalog includes responsive and mobile specific games for phones and tablets. Driving games offer on-screen steering, IO games use virtual joysticks, and puzzle and word games run on tap-and-drag, so phones and tablets are covered without an app.

Do you need an account?

No, not for most games. Standard play requires no signup. A few games offer optional leaderboards that need a quick account, but those never gate the gameplay.

What is the most popular game category on GamersHell?

On the English catalog, Two Player Games and Solitaire lead by play volume, covering head-to-head matches and card-pattern variants such as Spider and Klondike.

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The acquisition will give Fox direct access to Roku's more than 100 million households, along with expanded ad targeting data and a way to lessen its dependence on traditional cable distribution. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

This transaction marks Fox CEO and Chairman Lachlan Murdoch's first major acquisition since he solidified control of the media company after a family settlement last year.

Deal Terms: How The Acquisition Is Structured

Roku shareholders will receive $96 in cash and approximately 0.97 Fox Class A shares for each Roku share they own, valuing the offer at $160 per share.

This represents a 33.7% premium over Roku's closing price on Thursday, the day before reports emerged that the company was exploring a sale.

The transaction includes around $14.6 billion in cash, with the rest paid in stock. It also involves roughly $8.3 billion in new debt added to Fox's balance sheet. The deal is expected to bring annual cost savings of about $400 million.

After the merger, Fox shareholders will own approximately 73% of the combined company, with Roku investors holding the remainder.

Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood will continue in a role at the new company and will join Fox's board. Based on his 55% voting stake, Wood could potentially earn up to $3 billion from the sale.

How Investors and Analysts Are Responding

Fox shares dropped nearly 17 percent in early trading, likely due to concerns about stock dilution from the deal. Roku shares traded below the $160 offer price by as much as 12 percent.

TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz noted, "We tend to be skeptical that this deal will generate value for Fox shareholders. The history of content and platform mergers in media has generally been unfavorable."

He pointed to AT&T's unsuccessful 2018 acquisition of Time Warner, which was unwound three years later, as a cautionary example.

Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan analyst Cory Carpenter considered the deal more positive, saying that it could shift Roku's focus toward digital and address long-term concerns about its presence in PayTV.

What This Means for Users And Why Fox Is Buying It

Roku and Fox have confirmed that their existing distribution partnerships will remain in place. Murdoch downplayed potential conflicts of interest, emphasizing that "we're partners right now with YouTube, YouTube TV and Comcast, and that doesn't change."

For Roku users, the acquisition is unlikely to lead to immediate changes in device functionality or the available app ecosystem.

Roku continues to offer streaming apps from competitors such as Paramount, NBCUniversal, and Netflix, and Fox has assured that these partnerships will persist.

The free Roku Channel will remain separate from Fox's ad-supported streaming platform Tubi, indicating that both services will keep operating under their current brands.

Fox has been working to diversify away from traditional cable distribution as cord-cutting picks up pace. Last year, the company launched Fox One, a subscription service as part of that effort.

Roku primarily earns revenue through advertising and commissions on subscription sales via platforms like Netflix and Peacock, servicing more than 20 million customers with billing relationships.

If the deal goes through, the combined company would rank as the third-largest TV viewer by Nielsen’s metrics, behind YouTube and Disney and ahead of Netflix.

Fox reports strong demand for its live sports events, including NFL games, Major League Baseball, and the FIFA World Cup. The main strategic reasoning behind the acquisition is combining that content with Roku's audience reach.

Fox is already familiar with Roku. In 2020, Fox financed its $440 million purchase of Tubi by selling a 5% stake in Roku, a holding it has maintained since 2013.

Approvals and Timeline for the Fox–Roku Merger

Both companies' boards have given their unanimous approval for the transaction. The deal is expected to close in the first half of the year 2027, pending regulatory approval and standard closing conditions.

Allen & Company is serving as the lead financial adviser to Fox, while Qatalyst Partners is advising Roku as its exclusive financial adviser.

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The ban is expected to come into effect early next year and places the UK within a broader international effort to strengthen online safety rules for minors.

Services such as YouTube Kids and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal are not included in the ban. Enforcement will focus on technology companies rather than children directly.

Platforms that do not take sufficient measures to prevent under-16s from accessing their services could face multimillion-dollar fines.

What the UK Social Media Ban Covers for Under-16s

The platforms covered by the ban include:

• Snapchat,
• TikTok,
• YouTube,
• Instagram,
• Facebook, and
• X (formerly Twitter).
• Platforms like YouTube Kids and messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are not included.

The UK is adopting a model similar to Australia's, which last year became the first country to ban under-16s from creating social media accounts.

According to Starmer, the UK plans to go further than Australia by introducing measures to prevent strangers from contacting children on gaming and livestreaming platforms.

Officials are also exploring additional restrictions, which could include overnight curfews and mandatory breaks for users under 18 to stop endless scrolling. More details are expected to be announced next month.

Why the UK Government Says the Under-16 Social Media Ban Is Necessary

Starmer pointed to the negative effects of harmful content and excessive screen time as reasons for the ban.

He admitted that some teenagers might try to get around the restrictions but emphasized he is "not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children."

Esther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was killed in 2023 by attackers who accessed harmful online content, supported the ban, noting it should be part of a broader set of measures.

The NSPCC, a children's charity, called on authorities to ensure platforms implement effective age checks and enforce the policy properly.

The decision comes after a public consultation that received 116,000 responses, making it the second-largest response count for a UK consultation, just behind the 2012 same-sex marriage debate. Over 90% of respondents supported an under-16 ban.

Concerns From Critics and the US Response to the UK Ban

Critics including the Open Rights Group have expressed concerns about age verification companies and the security of users' private data.

Typically, age verification involves uploading government IDs or undergoing facial scans, which introduces new risks related to data collection and potential breaches.

A YouTube spokesperson warned that a blanket ban could result in children being pushed away from curated and supervised experiences and towards anonymous, less safe services.

Jon Crowcroft, a professor of communications systems at the University of Cambridge, said that supporters of social media bans are well-meaning but likely misguided.

He added that there is a real risk this approach might drive some users to worse sites, and that policing devices is nearly impossible from a technical standpoint. Crowcroft emphasized that policing platforms is much easier if regulators choose to focus on them.

The US has officially expressed its opposition to the move. The US Embassy in London emphasized that regulations should be narrowly focused and not infringe on free speech rights.

It also raised concerns that these regulations could impose additional challenges on American technology companies.

Starmer mentioned he plans to discuss the issue with US President Donald Trump and other leaders at the G7 summit starting Monday in France.

He noted that there has long been an understanding among world leaders that measures are necessary to protect children.

Wider Context

The UK is joining an increasing number of countries implementing age-based restrictions on social media.

Last year, Australia introduced a ban for users under 16, while Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia have either announced or put similar measures in place.

France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand, and South Korea are exploring or developing their own approaches.

This ban complements the broader rollout of age verification rules across Europe. In California, the Digital Age Assurance Act will come into effect in January 2027, with a recent proposal for an exemption for open source software.

Industry estimates suggest that revenue from age verification services could reach $11.4 billion annually within 10 to 15 years across OECD countries.

The UK government has not yet set a specific date for when the ban will take effect, only indicating that enforcement is likely early next year.

Final details, including the required age verification methods for platforms, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

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The update will be effective with Chrome versions 150 and 151, expected to be released this summer. After that, only extensions based on Manifest V3 will be compatible with Chrome.

Google engineer Devlin Cronin explained on the Chromium review site, "MV2 extensions are no longer allowed in any supported version of Chrome, and we are removing support for them and the associated functionality.

We won't be able to provide or maintain this functionality indefinitely due to the complexity and tech debt, as well as the security risks it entails."

Why Ending Manifest V2 Support Hits Ad Blockers Like uBlock Origin

Manifest V3 does not explicitly ban ad blockers, but it introduces restrictions that substantially reduce the effectiveness of tools like uBlock Origin.

The framework limits the number of filtering rules an extension can apply and removes dynamic blocking, a feature that allowed uBlock Origin to respond in real time to quickly evolving ad delivery methods.

Last year, Google disabled most Manifest V2 extensions with Chrome 138, although workarounds kept some functionalities available for a time. The Chrome 150 and 151 releases have now permanently removed those workarounds.

What uBlock Origin Users Can Do After Chrome Drops Manifest V2

Users currently relying on uBlock Origin in Chrome have a few options to consider. One option is switching to uBlock Origin Lite, which works under Manifest V3 but has reduced capabilities.

The Lite version allows some tracking, features a much smaller blocklist than the original, and cannot perform dynamic filtering. Alternatively, users can switch to a non-Chromium browser such as Firefox, which continues to support Manifest V2 extensions.

The uBlock Origin project recommends Firefox as the platform for full functionality going forward. Some browsers like Opera or Microsoft Edge have also indicated they will continue supporting V2 extensions for now.

Opera stated last fall that it would stop allowing new uploads of V2 extensions and would block downloads of older, less-used ones.

Finally, users can choose Brave, which includes built-in ad and tracker blocking through Brave Shields and does not depend on third-party V2 extensions.

Firefox’s Position and What Manifest V3 Means Going Forward

Firefox continues to support Manifest V2 alongside V3 extensions, and Mozilla has stated it has no current plans to remove V2 support.

Raymond Hill, the developer of uBlock Origin, pointed out that Firefox offers the best experience for users who want full uBlock Origin functionality.

In an interview with PCMag, Mozilla's new Firefox head, Ajit Varma, emphasized that Firefox is independent of Google's Chromium engine.

Firefox uses Mozilla's own Gecko engine, whereas most major browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Brave, are built on Chromium.

The transition to Manifest V3 has taken several years, with Google gradually phasing out V2 features over time. The final updates in Chrome 150 and 151 mark the end of that process and bring Chrome in line with the more strict extension architecture that Google has promoted for years.

For users seeking browser-based ad blocking without relying on extensions, alternatives include switching browsers, using built-in features such as Brave Shields, or installing system-wide ad blockers like Pi-hole or NextDNS at the network level.

The Chromium standard is also affecting other major browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Opera. While some have indicated they may support V2 temporarily, the overall trend points toward adopting Manifest V3 across the Chromium ecosystem.

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The announcement was made on June 15. EA estimates that more than 120 million players access its games each month during fiscal year 2026, representing the platform's target audience.

The platform builds on existing EA brand integrations, such as the Coach partnership in The Sims 4, collaborations with Visa and State Farm through EA Sports, and previous activations including the Moschino Stuff Pack and the Alexa in-game object in The Sims 4.

What EA Advertising Offers Brands Inside EA Games

EA's announcement highlights four main ways brands can utilize the platform.

First, brand partnerships and gameplay integrations involve custom creations for specific games and audiences, such as in-game challenges, reward-based objectives, branded content, and curated vanity items.

Second, ad units in 3D sports simulations include digital ad boards, scoreboards, and brand overlays that are dynamically displayed within select EA Sports games, with impression measurement aligned to IAB standards.

Third, enhanced targeting and measurement utilize a new proprietary ad server and SDK built specifically for EA's Frostbite engine, with measurement carried out in partnership with Integral Ad Science.

Finally, the EA Sports Partner Program offers an exclusive ecosystem for a select group of official partners, featuring in-game integrations, live event tie-ins, and the GEN / EA Sports athlete platform.

Existing EA Advertising Partners and In?Game Activations

EA has listed several brands that have already partnered with EA Advertising:

• Visa is a partner of EA Sports FC and EA Sports College Football, providing integrations across both titles.
• Lowe's has incorporated itself into EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, and College Football through Ultimate Team challenges and branded player content, resulting in more than 987,000 games played and 200,000 challenges completed.
• Red Bull engaged EA Sports FC players with branded in-game objectives, team kits, and collaborations with athlete ambassadors, leading to 128 million matches played and 1.2 million objectives completed.
• Xfinity and Peacock were activated through in-stadium and broadcast-style integrations in EA Sports FC 26.

What EA Advertising Means for Players

EA Advertising formalizes and speeds up a process that has been largely informal so far. EA Sports titles have featured in-stadium signage for years, and The Sims has included branded content from IKEA in The Sims 2 and the Moschino Stuff Pack in The Sims 4.

The launch of a dedicated advertising department indicates that EA plans to increase the number and frequency of brand integrations across its games.

Players looking to limit their exposure to in-game ads have few options besides avoiding games that include them.

EA says these integrations are meant to enhance rather than disrupt the player experience, but the company has not provided details on how players can opt out of specific brand content in games they own.

The EA Advertising launch comes after EA's recent acquisition of a $55 billion deal involving a group that includes Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners.

The buyout left EA with a considerable amount of debt, which the new advertising division aims to partly address. While EA has not explicitly connected the launch to the acquisition, the timing and scale of the announcement point to a coordinated effort to diversify revenue.

The platform launch coincides with a growing trend of in-game advertising across the industry. Several publishers have established formal partnerships with advertisers, and the integration of brands into live-service games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty has set examples for what players can expect.

EA Advertising is now active. Brands interested in partnerships can find more information at ea.com/brand-partnerships.

The company has not announced specific timelines for new integrations in titles such as The Sims 4 or EA Sports FC, but it has indicated that additional collaborations across its portfolio are likely.

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The ruling was made by the 26th civil chamber at the Munich Regional Court, which handles press and defamation cases.

The case was brought by two publishers based in Munich, who claimed that AI Overview falsely connected their companies to fraud, questionable business practices, and subscription traps.

They said the AI mixed their information with that of other genuinely suspicious companies and created false links that were not supported by the sources attached to Google's response.

What the Court Decided About Google’s Liability for AI Overview Answers

The main legal issue was whether AI Overviews should be treated under the law the same way as traditional search results.

Google argued it wasn't responsible for the output generated by the AI and that it doesn't adopt third-party content as its own when providing summaries.

The court disagreed. The judges stated that the AI summary isn't just a display or a link to search results, but content that can be attributed to the search engine operator.

Since the AI summarizes results in its own words, evaluates them, and presents them in a structured manner, the court concluded that Google produces new, independent statements that go beyond simple links.

Because of this, existing case law from Germany's Federal Court of Justice, which shields search engine operators from direct liability for listing third-party content, does not apply to AI-generated summaries.

Google claimed that users could verify the information themselves through the source links and were aware that AI-generated content should not be blindly trusted.

The court, however, rejected this defense. The chamber highlighted that the AI Overview is a self-contained statement with independently understandable content.

The court found no indication that the content was unreliable, meaning that the possibility of further user research did not exempt Google from liability for any reputational damages.

The Outcome and Why This Ruling Matters for AI Search Providers

The court has ordered Google to stop spreading false claims about the plaintiffs and to cover 80% of the legal costs. The ruling is not final and may still be appealed.

A Google spokesperson stated that the company invests heavily in the quality of AI overviews to ensure that most answers are accurate. Google said it would review the decision carefully.

If the ruling is upheld on appeal, it could mean that AI-generated search summaries are seen as the platform's own speech rather than as protected hosting of third-party content.

This distinction could be important for liability under German defamation law and might influence how similar cases are handled across the EU.

The case adds to increasing regulatory scrutiny of AI search features in Europe. Recently, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority ordered Google to give publishers the option to prevent their content from being used in AI Overviews and AI Mode, citing concerns about traffic and accuracy.

Studies have also shown that AI Overviews can reduce click-through rates to original sources by nearly 50%.

For users in Germany, the ruling doesn’t immediately change how AI Overview works, but it does establish that false or misleading information in those summaries could now lead to direct claims against Google.

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The promotion also expands available locations from the standard set to 28 countries. The VPN reverts to its standard 50GB monthly bandwidth limit and reduced location list on September 1.

The Firefox built-in VPN is included free with Firefox in regions where it is available. Mozilla introduced it earlier this year and reported over 1 million signups within two months of launch.

What’s Changing in Firefox’s Built-In VPN During the Promotion

For the duration of the promotion (now through August 31):

• Bandwidth is unlimited, up from the standard 50GB per month
• 28 country locations are available, an expansion from the standard set
• The full available country list is: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, and United States

Browsing remains subject to the local laws and content restrictions of whichever region the user selects.

How to Use Firefox’s Built-In VPN and Practical Ways to Take Advantage of It

The VPN is integrated directly into Firefox. To turn it on, click the VPN icon in the address bar area and toggle the connection on. Firefox recommends the fastest available location by default, but users can switch to any of the supported countries from a drop-down list.

The VPN also supports per-site exceptions. If a website does not work correctly with the VPN active, users can turn the VPN off for that site directly from the VPN panel. For more permanent exceptions, sites can be added to an exclusion list in advanced settings.

Mozilla explains some common reasons people might use a VPN more often. These include adding protection when connecting to public Wi-Fi at airports, train stations, or hotels.

It also helps restore access to websites that show your home region, such as pharmacy refill portals or shopping sites that might detect your location abroad.

Additionally, users can choose a specific country location to see how a website looks in different regions.

What Happens After August 31

The Firefox VPN will revert to offering 50GB of bandwidth per month and a smaller country list starting September 1. Users who have become used to connecting from specific countries during the promotion should be aware that not all 28 countries will be available in the regular offering.

Mozilla has not indicated whether similar promotions will be available in the future. The current promotion is active in regions where Firefox's built-in VPN service is available.

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The update was announced late last month and includes an optional Liquorix-built kernel 7.0, in addition to the standard Debian kernel.

Existing MX Linux users can upgrade through the install-over option in the installer. MX Linux is a Debian-based distribution that doesn't require systemd by default, making it a more accessible choice for users who prefer to avoid systemd.

Kernel and Edition Options and Init System Changes in MX Linux 25.2

MX Linux 25.2 offers different kernel options depending on the edition:

• The Xfce edition comes with the standard Debian kernel or an Advanced Hardware Support (AHS) version that uses the Liquorix kernel 7.0. The
• The KDE Plasma edition includes only the AHS version with the Liquorix 7.0 kernel. The
• The Fluxbox edition, which is lightweight, uses only the Debian kernel.

The AHS edition is designed for newer hardware and benefits from the more recent kernel updates.

Earlier versions of MX Linux, up to version 23, allowed users to choose between sysvinit and systemd at boot time. This method ceased to work starting with kernel 6.12 and later.

MX 25.0 required users to select either sysvinit or systemd during installation, with the KDE Plasma desktop available only in the systemd variant.

In MX 25.1, a new mechanism was introduced to switch between init systems after installation. This feature persisted in MX 25.2, but the change to the underlying architecture made upgrading directly from MX 23 to MX 25.x difficult.

The MX Tools suite, which includes system administration utilities, often encountered issues during such upgrades.

Upgrading from Older MX Linux Versions to 25.2

For users running MX 23 or earlier who want to upgrade to 25.2, the recommended method is to choose the "install over an existing MX installation" option in the installer instead of trying an in-place upgrade.

This method performs a clean reinstallation of the operating system and does not keep the previous configuration. It also requires re-enabling the swap partition and recreating the user account. However, it restores MX Tools to a working state.

The contents of the home directory are preserved through the install-over option, but configuration files within it may need to be reapplied or recreated. To keep all settings and configurations, it is advisable to perform a full manual backup before reinstalling.

After the installation, MX Tools offers easy point-and-click access to selecting repositories, configuring mirrors, installing drivers including Nvidia drivers, managing kernels, and adding software. Flatpak is preinstalled, making it straightforward to install applications like Gear Lever through Flathub.

Raspberry Pi Edition Now Updated to MX Linux 25.2

The MX Linux Raspberry Pi edition has been updated to version 25.2. Prior to this update, the Pi version was based on MX 22. The Raspberry Pi edition uses the Xfce desktop environment and is built partly from Raspberry Pi OS packages instead of directly from Debian.

This approach allows it to look and function like MX Linux while remaining compatible with most Raspberry Pi models and Pi OS applications.

Earlier in the development process, testers experienced stability issues that prevented the system from booting past the splash screen on Pi 4 and Pi 5 hardware. The MX Linux team continues to work on refining the Pi edition.

MX Linux's latest release comes at a time when several other Debian and Ubuntu derivatives are introducing local AI features. Canonical has announced AI-powered features for Ubuntu 26.10 "Stonking Stingray," while Linux Lite 8.0 offers an optional local large language model through its MyAI feature.

MX Linux 25.2, however, ships without any bundled AI components. This may appeal to users who prefer to avoid both systemd and locally hosted AI models.

MX Linux 25.2 is now available for free download from the project's official website. The Xfce, KDE, and Fluxbox editions have all been updated to the 25.2 release.

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This has resulted in a notably busy fall release calendar, with most major publishers fitting their launches into the six-week period leading up to GTA 6.

Chort shared these insights with Eurogamer while discussing the launch plans for Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, an upcoming prequel set to be released on August 27.

Studios Adapt to “The Ogre” of GTA 6

All the studios around the world were thinking about it. When you know that GTA is coming, you realize that in terms of marketing, player engagement, and the overall gaming experience, GTA is like the main event, the biggest one. So, teams try to adapt and find ways to avoid being overshadowed.

Asobo chose to release Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy in late August. This period would normally be considered a relatively quiet and safe window for launches, but Chort acknowledged that the 2026 calendar is already quite crowded, even before GTA 6 is released.

"This year, we see that there are many good games, or at least a lot of quality titles, so we recognize that this is just how the industry is. We aim to create the best game we can," he added.

A Crowded Pre-GTA 6 Release Calendar

GTA 6's release in November has led to most major fall titles being shifted earlier in the year to avoid direct competition. Confirmed releases in the weeks leading up to GTA 6 include

• Marvel's Wolverine,
• Gears of War: E-Day,
• Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave,
• Control Resonant (September 24),
• Silent Hill Townfall,
• The Blood of Dawnwalker (September 3),
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy (August 27), and
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (October 23), with early access available from October 16.

Publishers have effectively turned September and October into the most active period for new game releases this year.

Why GTA 6 Distorts the Entire Release Schedule

Take-Two Interactive projects that its fiscal year 2027 revenue will surpass $8 billion, with most of the growth expected to come from GTA 6. Industry estimates indicate the game could sell up to 45 million copies on PS5 in its first week.

Rockstar's GTA 5 remains a strong seller, continuing to move millions of copies annually more than a decade after its initial release, providing steady ongoing revenue.

The anticipated commercial impact of GTA 6, along with the concentration of player time and attention on a single release, makes it advantageous for publishers to avoid launching competing titles in the same window.

Releasing games too close to GTA 6 risks reduced coverage and player engagement, regardless of the quality.

GTA 6 is scheduled for a console launch on November 19, 2026. A PC version has not yet been confirmed.

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Google Maps took approximately five years to reach 1 billion monthly users. ChatGPT reached the same number in roughly 3.5 years since its November 2022 launch.

The figure specifically refers to monthly app users rather than total users across all surfaces, including the web.

Growth Across the AI Chatbot Market

While ChatGPT remains the dominant player in the market, the growth rates of competing chatbots are increasing more rapidly in percentage terms:

• ChatGPT: 62% year-on-year growth
• Anthropic Claude: 640% year-on-year growth
• Meta AI: 973% year-on-year growth

Abe Yousef, senior insights analyst at Sensor Tower, told CNBC that improvements in the models and more positive market sentiment toward rival companies have contributed to the rise of competing apps. Despite the significant percentage differences, ChatGPT's user base is still much larger than its competitors in absolute numbers.

How Government Deals and Public Sentiment Are Shaping ChatGPT’s Adoption

OpenAI signed a deal with the Pentagon earlier this year as part of a larger set of contracts between US tech companies and the Department of Defense.

The agreement drew criticism from the public. In response, CEO Sam Altman promised additional safeguards to prevent the technology from being used for surveillance of US citizens.

On February 28, the day after the Pentagon deal was announced, there was a sharp increase in ChatGPT uninstalls, rising approximately 295% compared to the previous day. During the same period, Anthropic's Claude became the top free app on the US App Store.

Anthropic has refused to allow the government to use its models for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. This stance led the company to be labeled a "supply chain risk" by the Pentagon. Despite this, reports suggest that the NSA is using Claude Mythos for offensive cyber operations, even amid public disagreements.

The increase in AI chatbot usage is happening alongside growing public concerns about AI. Polls show that roughly 70% of Americans oppose the construction of AI data centers. Worries about AI's effect on jobs also remain, although recent analyses suggest that the predicted large-scale job losses haven't yet materialized.

OpenAI released a report this week stating that accounts linked to China have used ChatGPT to spread anti-data center sentiments in the United States. The company said these efforts had limited impact.

The contrast between rising adoption and declining public opinion is a key feature of the current AI landscape. With ChatGPT reaching one billion monthly users, many see its practical value as outweighing concerns, even as debates about AI's risks and benefits continue to grow.

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Modern Warfare 4 is the first Call of Duty game to skip last-generation consoles. It will be available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC through platforms such as Xbox on PC, Steam, and Battle.net.

What the Digital Preorder Includes, and the Game Pass Delay

Digital preorders unlock the following on October 16: access to the full Modern Warfare 4 campaign one week before the public launch, the preorder operator bundles already announced, and standard launch-day access to multiplayer and DMZ modes on October 23.

The early access does not apply to physical preorders.

Despite being a first-party title from Microsoft, Modern Warfare 4 will not be available on Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass until October 23, 2027, which is one year after its launch.

The delay follows Microsoft's recent restructuring of Game Pass after the price increase in October 2025, which led to a loss of subscribers.

Additionally, new Call of Duty releases were removed from day-one Game Pass availability as part of the reduction in the Game Pass Ultimate subscription price to $22.99 per month.

Campaign Storyline, Spoiler Risk, and Trailer Performance

The campaign shifts its focus to Private Park, a young soldier from South Korea facing live combat after North Korea launches a full-scale invasion of the South. The conflict becomes the campaign's front line.

Captain Price returns, voiced by Barry Sloane, driven by revenge for the death of Soap MacTavish at the hands of the series antagonist, Makarov. The reveal trailer shows Price working with former TF141 adversary Valeria "El Sin Nombre" Garza. It also features an exchange between Price and Ghost, where Ghost accuses Price of breaking rules. Price replies, "No more rules."

Infinity Ward has been unusually transparent about the campaign's story during its pre-release marketing. Now that campaign early access is available a week before the official launch, players who wait until the public release face a higher risk of encountering spoilers through streams, social media, and discussion forums during the early access period.

The reveal trailer for Modern Warfare 4 has been viewed 58 million times on YouTube within two weeks. This surpasses the 49 million views that the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 trailer received nine months earlier. The positive response has led to discussions about the game's potential commercial success.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is now available for pre-order through participating retailers, platform stores, or on CallofDuty.com.

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What Triggered the Suspension of Fable 5 and Mythos 5, and What It Means for Users

Anthropic stated that US national security authorities have not publicly identified specific concerns. The company claimed that the government is aware of a method to bypass or "jailbreak" Fable 5.

It also mentioned reviewing a demonstration of this technique. According to Anthropic, the vulnerabilities exposed are "relatively simple," and other publicly available models can also discover them without needing a bypass.

"We reviewed a demonstration of this specific technique used to identify a small number of previously known, minor vulnerabilities," Anthropic explained. "These vulnerabilities all appear to be relatively simple, and we have found that other publicly available models can discover them as well without requiring a bypass."

Customers using Pro, Max, and Enterprise plans who accessed Fable 5 during its free preview period can no longer use the model. The Mythos 5 access program for vetted partners is also affected.

Anthropic has not provided a timeline for when Fable 5 or Mythos 5 might be available again or what conditions need to be met to lift the suspension. Other Claude models, including Claude Opus 4.8, remain accessible.

Wider Tension Between Anthropic and the Trump Administration

The suspension comes amid an ongoing dispute between Anthropic and the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has publicly criticized the company, and former US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled Anthropic a "supply chain risk."

This designation, typically reserved for adversarial countries, marks the first time a US company has received it, indicating that the tool or service is not deemed secure enough for government use.

Anthropic is suing the Pentagon over the designation, and a US judge has ruled that the Pentagon's directive cannot be enforced while the lawsuit is ongoing. As a result, government agencies and organizations working with the US military can continue using Anthropic products temporarily.

The BBC reported that it has contacted the US Department of Commerce for comment on the Fable 5 suspension.

Anthropic previously stated that Fable 5 surpasses the capabilities of any model the company has made publicly available, with the Mythos architecture described as "too powerful to release" without substantial safeguards.

The Mythos program was limited to select trusted partners through Project Glasswing for cybersecurity research before Fable 5's broader release earlier this week.

Anthropic has not announced any modifications it plans to make to address the government's concerns before Fable 5 and Mythos 5 can be reinstated.

Anthropic is suing the Pentagon over the designation. A US judge has ruled the Pentagon's directive cannot be enforced while the lawsuit continues, meaning government agencies and organizations working with the US military can still use Anthropic products in the interim.

The BBC reported it has approached the US Department of Commerce for comment on the Fable 5 suspension.

Anthropic previously described Fable 5 as exceeding the capabilities of any model the company had made generally available, with the underlying Mythos architecture characterized by Anthropic as "too powerful to release" without significant safeguards.

The Mythos program was restricted to a small number of trusted partners through Project Glasswing for cybersecurity research before Fable 5's broader release earlier this week.

Anthropic has not announced what changes, if any, will be made to address the government's concerns before Fable 5 and Mythos 5 can return to availability.

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Microsoft states that this change will allow users to receive new features and security updates more quickly. The Extended Stable channel, introduced in 2021 for organizations seeking a more predictable schedule, will continue to follow its existing eight-week update cycle.

What Changes in Edge’s Release Cycle and What Happens to Extended Stable

Microsoft Edge currently releases new versions roughly every four weeks. Under the updated schedule, stable updates will be released every two weeks.

This change means users will see new features and platform improvements sooner. Since each update is smaller, it can also simplify validation for IT teams.

Security updates will continue to be rolled out to both the Stable and Extended Stable channels. Critical security patches apply to both, with the main difference being how quickly new features arrive in each channel.

Extended Stable will now only receive updates every fourth release, such as Edge 156, 160, and 164. The eight-week interval between Extended Stable updates remains unchanged. Organizations using Extended Stable do not need to take any action.

What Users and Organizations Should Do Before Edge 152 Arrives

For users on Stable, Microsoft recommends planning for smaller, more frequent updates and quicker deployment of security improvements. Organizations using Extended Stable do not need to take any action; the current eight-week cycle and support model will continue as is.

Microsoft suggests all users add a pilot group to the Beta channel and start testing from day one of each release to make the most of validation time. Enterprise Preview remains the supported path for testing Beta builds, with setup instructions available for IT administrators.

The two-week release cycle begins with Edge 152, which reaches Stable on August 27. Microsoft has published an updated Edge release schedule and Lifecycle page to help organizations prepare for the transition.

This faster pace brings Microsoft Edge closer to Google Chrome’s release schedule, which also features shorter update intervals. It is not yet clear whether other Edge products, such as Edge for Business or Edge for Linux, will follow the same release cadence.

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The change is currently aimed at developers and is not yet available to end users. Supported hardware includes Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs and newer models with at least 6GB of VRAM.

What Changed and What This Enables on Non-Copilot+ PCs

Microsoft's updated developer documentation and a GitHub post describe a recent change. They state that language model APIs now run on GPU-equipped PCs that are not Copilot+ models, expanding local language model capabilities to more Windows 11 devices.

This represents a shift from Microsoft's original focus on Copilot+ PCs launched on June 18, 2024, which emphasized NPUs as necessary for local AI features in Windows.

While NPUs are not the only chips capable of AI workloads, Microsoft previously limited most built-in AI features to devices with NPUs.

The current feature set centers on text-based tasks using Windows.AI.Text APIs. These capabilities include summarizing content, rewriting text, converting text into structured formats, and generating prompts.

Although the functionality resembles cloud-based AI tools, it runs locally on the device, reducing dependence on cloud processing and keeping data on the machine.

At the core is a small on-device model called Phi Silica. Instead of being pre-installed on all systems, Phi Silica can be downloaded through Windows Update when needed by an application. Once installed, the model runs locally and makes use of the GPU when available.

What’s Still Limited and Why GPU Support Matters for Windows 11 Users

GPU support is currently limited to the language model API layer. Other Copilot+ features remain tied to systems equipped with NPU, including:

• Windows Recall,
• Click to Do, and several other AI integrations branded under Copilot+.

This capability is primarily accessible at the developer level rather than directly for end users. Running these APIs requires applications that are built or adapted to utilize the Windows AI framework.

Users will see benefits as developers update their applications to support GPU-based local AI on non-Copilot+ PCs.

The update expands the range of Windows 11 devices that can run local AI features. PCs with mid- to high-end Nvidia GPUs that previously lacked NPU hardware now have a way to access Microsoft's built-in local AI tools.

Many gaming computers and workstations meet this new GPU requirement, enabling local AI capabilities for a sizable portion of Windows 11 users.

Microsoft has not indicated whether GPU support will be extended to Windows Recall and other features currently limited to Copilot+ hardware, or if AMD and Intel GPUs will get similar support in the future.

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This connection uses Visa's payment network to process transactions at any compatible merchant, rather than limiting AI-driven shopping to one specific retailer.

Previously, AI retail integrations were mainly restricted to retailer-built chatbots that could only access their own inventory. The new Visa integration links an open-web reasoning model directly to a universal transaction network.

How the Visa, ChatGPT Agent System Works

When a ChatGPT user asks the agent to buy an item, the system takes care of choosing the vendor, comparing products, and handling payments.

This process relies on pre-set spending limits that are authorized in advance by the user, ChatGPT, and Visa.

Visa supports this by using programmatic tokenization to facilitate the purchases.

1. First, the user pre-approves the ChatGPT environment with specific spending details.
2. When the model decides to make a purchase, it creates a one-time payment token through the Visa network.
3. The agent then sends this token via API to the merchant's backend systems.
4. The transaction settles just like a digital wallet payment, without needing to show a user interface.

This method avoids the manual data entry, CAPTCHA checks, and two-factor authentication that usually slow down or block automated processes.

What Users Should Know About It

For consumers, the integration enables ChatGPT to handle retail purchases on their behalf within predefined spending limits.

Personalization data, including previous preferences, sizing, budget restrictions, and brand loyalties, is stored securely in the user's profile within the language model, rather than being inferred by retailers through tracking cookies.

The AI agent can also manage returns and customer service requests. If a product doesn’t match the original specifications, the user can instruct the agent to follow the merchant's return procedures, process the refund, and generate shipping labels.

Prompt injection attacks could potentially manipulate an agent into making purchases from malicious vendors or authorizing larger transactions than intended.

Visa's network acts as the last line of validation, using fraud detection models on incoming token requests. To reduce risk, users should set conservative spending limits during pre-authorization, regularly review their agent's purchase history through their Visa account, and be aware that ChatGPT's instructions are interpreted by the model, so vague prompts could result in unintended purchases. If agent purchasing is not needed, it is best to disable it entirely.

What This Means for Retailers and Availability

Retailers need to share machine-readable inventory data to stay visible to AI agents. As SEO shifts toward language model optimization, structured data feeds, clear API documentation, and explicitly formatted product attributes become essential. Without high-quality metadata, merchants will be effectively invisible to autonomous agents.

Display ads, visual merchandising, and UI optimizations do not influence the model's choice criteria. Retailers tracking bounce rates, session durations, and cart abandonment will need to adopt new telemetry that focuses on API queries from known large language model IP addresses.

Loyalty programs should be integrated into payment tokens or the user's LLM profile. Since an autonomous agent assesses the market anew with each prompt unless instructed otherwise, having this data ready is important.

Retailers using headless commerce architectures have an advantage, as they can process the agent's payload, confirm stock, and complete payments in milliseconds.

Visa and OpenAI have not provided details about the regional rollout schedule, which payment cards or accounts will be eligible, or how merchants can sign up for token-based agent purchases.

Users interested in this feature should keep an eye on their ChatGPT account settings and Visa account configurations for the option to buy through agents as it becomes available.

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The feature allows users to see which topics the recommendation system thinks they are interested in, add topics they want more of, and remove those they are less interested in.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the change in a public post.

How “Your Algorithm” Works and Where the Controls Are Available

Instagram's recommendation system has traditionally relied on content embeddings, which group similar items close together in a multi-dimensional space.

Although these embeddings can be represented as numbers, they don’t correspond to understandable categories for users. With the advent of large language models, Instagram can now translate these embeddings into descriptive topics in plain language.

This allows users to see what the system has inferred about their interests and adjust those topics directly.

To customize the main feed using Your Algorithm, users can open Instagram and access the algorithm controls through the feed settings.

There, they can review the list of topics the system has associated with their account, add topics they want to see more of, and remove those they want to see less of. Any changes made are applied to the ranking model going forward.

Your algorithm is now active across three surfaces:

• Reels since October 2025,
• Explore, and the main feed, which was added this week.

Mosseri mentioned that topics are just the starting point. Instagram is working on supporting additional inputs, including specific people, moods or vibes, and different content types.

Why Instagram Added “Your Algorithm” Controls and What Comes Next

Mosseri explained the broader reasoning behind the changes in his announcement. He noted that as recommendation algorithms have become the main way content is surfaced across the industry, who users follow has become less significant in shaping their experience.

The system learns from what users tap, watch, and share, but users haven't had a way to directly tell the system what they want.

Mosseri acknowledged that algorithmic recommendations are useful, pointing out that Instagram users share recommended content in direct messages billions of times a day.

Still, he described the lack of user input as a factor that contributes to the feeling that "the experience is happening to them rather than being shaped by them" on social platforms.

Mosseri said that future versions of the feature will allow users to customize their experience more precisely. In addition to topics, upcoming controls may include options for specific people, moods, and content formats.

He also mentioned the long-term possibility of AI creating entire personalized app experiences tailored to individual users in real time, while noting that such fully personalized experiences could impact shared cultural moments.

The expanded Your Algorithm controls for the main feed are currently being rolled out. Instagram has not provided details on regional availability or whether all users will receive the feature at the same time.

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The memo did not explicitly mention layoffs, but sources told Bloomberg that the cuts are imminent and are expected to be announced soon after Microsoft's fiscal year ends on June 30. Reports from Giant Bomb suggest that around 1,000 employees could be affected.

Sharma also mentioned that Xbox is considering "radically different" business models for future console hardware, citing increasing storage costs and concerns about consumer expenses.

What Asha Sharma’s Memo Reveals and How Storage Costs Are Reshaping Xbox’s Strategy

Sharma noted that Microsoft may have overreached with its acquisitions of major studios such as ZeniMax, the publisher of the Elder Scrolls series, Obsidian Entertainment, and the $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.

Aside from the Activision deal, Microsoft's gaming division has invested more than $20 billion over the past five years on acquisitions and hardware subsidies.

Over the same period, annual gaming revenue has declined by nearly $500 million, and Microsoft expects to close the fiscal year with a 3 percent drop in profit margins.

Sharma highlighted supply challenges caused by AI data center expansions, which have led to a sharp increase in digital storage prices. When Sharma took over in February, Microsoft was paying twice as much for Xbox storage compared to the previous fall.

Since then, prices have doubled again. Sharma expects Xbox storage costs to increase fivefold between fall 2025 and the holiday season of 2027, which is the anticipated launch window for the next Xbox console, codenamed Helix.

Leaked chip design documents have previously suggested that Helix will be costly due to its high-end hardware specifications. The RAM shortage, partly driven by Microsoft's investments in AI, is now expected to push console prices into new levels.

Radically Different Business Models

In an earlier interview with Fortune, Sharma said that it is becoming difficult to imagine a time when large audiences will be able to afford spending thousands of dollars on a console generation.

He suggested that we will likely see new business models emerging later this year, which might be quite different from traditional approaches.

The memo follows several significant strategy shifts under Sharma's leadership. Microsoft reduced the price of Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 per month after a price increase in October 2025 led to millions of Xbox subscribers being lost, as confirmed by Xbox Chief Service Officer Matthew Ball.

Call of Duty will no longer be available on day one of Game Pass and will instead launch on the platform one year after its initial release.

Microsoft is also reintroducing console exclusivity for select titles, such as Gears of War: E-Day, set for Xbox consoles in October 2026, and Clockwork Revolution in 2027.

Both titles will remain exclusive to Xbox consoles indefinitely, despite earlier indications that E-Day might be prepared for PlayStation 5. The company has stated that its approach to exclusivity will vary on a case-by-case basis, especially for single-player games.

Live-service titles like Call of Duty will continue to support PlayStation and Nintendo platforms. Early sales data from the UK suggests that Forza Horizon 6 has helped increase Xbox Series console sales, showing that releasing popular titles across multiple platforms can boost hardware engagement.

Wider Industry Layoffs and Xbox’s Plan to ‘Reset’

Microsoft has now announced that its job cuts since the start of 2023 total around 39,000, with the upcoming layoffs potentially raising that number to about 40,000.

Ubisoft is also expected to announce layoffs, with reports indicating roughly 380 roles will be cut at its studios in Belgrade and Winnipeg.

The Belgrade studio will focus solely on the Rainbow Six franchise, while the Winnipeg location primarily develops the company's Anvil and Snowdrop graphics engines.

Microsoft has not provided an exact date for the layoffs or confirmed the final number beyond what has been reported. In a memo, Sharma described the changes as part of a broader effort to "reset" the Xbox business ahead of the next console generation.

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The company announced the confidential S-1 filing on Monday. Anthropic submitted its own confidential filing on June 1, and SpaceX recently launched an IPO roadshow and is expected to begin trading within days.

A confidential filing allows a company to submit financial information to regulators for review before making it public. OpenAI has said it has not yet decided on the timing of its IPO.

"We expect it to leak so we're just announcing it," OpenAI said in a statement. "We haven't decided on the timing yet. It might be a while because there are things we want to do that are probably easier as a private company.

But it's a complex set of tradeoffs, and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that turns out to be the best choice."

Financials, Valuation, and Why OpenAI Says It Needs an IPO

OpenAI is currently valued at $852 billion and has raised more than $180 billion in funding. CFO Sarah Friar told The Associated Press that the company's valuation would place it among the 15 largest companies in the S&P 500.

The company is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on its filing, the same two investment banks listed at the top of SpaceX's prospectus.

OpenAI also plans to run a tender offer allowing employees to sell shares at the current valuation, according to a person familiar with the plans.

OpenAI has not publicly disclosed its revenues or a timeline for profitability. The company continues to spend more than it earns while securing compute capacity and infrastructure for training and running AI models.

Competitive Pressure, Corporate Structure, and the AI IPO Wave

Emarketer analyst Nate Elliott described the filing as coming at a difficult time for OpenAI, noting that the company seems to be losing its early lead in both consumer and business markets to Google and Anthropic. "But OpenAI doesn't have many other options to find the large amounts of capital needed to cover its expenses," Elliott said.

ChatGPT launched in 2022 and now has more than 900 million weekly active users. Anthropic recently closed a funding round at a valuation of $965 billion, surpassing OpenAI's figure, just before its own confidential SEC filing.

SpaceX, which merged with Musk's xAI earlier this year, lists OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google as key competitors in its IPO prospectus.

If SpaceX's offering is successful, Anthropic and OpenAI may face pressure to speed up their own plans, given the capital each company is trying to raise.

OpenAI officially became a public benefit corporation last year, while still being controlled by a nonprofit parent organization. Friar told CNBC in April that it is considered good practice for a company of OpenAI's size to operate like a public company, noting that OpenAI was already measuring revenue in a way similar to publicly traded firms reporting to the SEC.

This filing comes after the conclusion of Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman. A federal advisory jury determined Musk delayed too long in pursuing claims that OpenAI violated its nonprofit commitments, and a federal judge dismissed the case last month. Musk has indicated that he plans to appeal.

Altman’s ‘Third Phase’ Vision for OpenAI

Alongside the IPO news, CEO Sam Altman posted a separate blog entry outlining what he called the third phase of OpenAI. He described the first phase as foundational research, the second as creating a product company that learned how people use AI tools, and the third as providing advanced AI to everyone as the economy evolves.

Altman outlined three goals: developing an automated AI researcher, boosting economic growth, and making a personal artificial general intelligence accessible to everyone.

These comments came after Altman's recent meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders, who has proposed requiring the public to hold at least a 50 percent ownership stake in AI companies, including OpenAI.

President Donald Trump has also shown support for giving the public a stake in AI development.

OpenAI’s Internal Product Focus After the Filing

OpenAI has recently sharpened its product focus. The company shut down Sora, its short-form video app, and shifted resources toward its enterprise business and Codex, its AI coding assistant.

Codex is now a direct competitor to Anthropic's Claude Code. Altman recently described the product as having its own "ChatGPT-style moment."

OpenAI has not announced a specific date for a public IPO. The company said that its confidential filing provides the option to go public sooner if market conditions are favorable.

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Once those locations sell through their inventory, Valve will not restock them. The company expects all retailers to run out of physical cards by the end of 2026.

Existing cards remain valid. Users can redeem any unused physical Steam Gift Cards on Steam at any time, with no expiration deadline.

Why Valve Is Ending Physical Steam Gift Cards in Retail Stores

Valve introduced Steam Gift Cards to retail stores in 2012. Since then, the cards have been used by scammers in coercion schemes, in which victims are pressured to buy gift cards under the guise of paying taxes, bail, debts, or delivery fees for fake sweepstakes winnings. The pattern affects gift cards from major brands across the industry.

Valve has taken several measures to fight the scams over the years, including:

• Working with retailers and law enforcement
• Adding a prominent scam warning to the cards
• Limiting redemption to the currency of the Steam wallet
• Limiting card availability
• Removing cards from sale when abnormal activity was detected

The company states that scammers have adapted to each restriction. Discontinuing the physical card program entirely is Valve's final response.

What This Means for Existing Physical Steam Gift Cards

Users who already own a physical Steam Gift Card can redeem it on Steam whenever they choose. There is no deadline for redemption.

The discontinuation affects only the sale of new physical cards, not the validity of cards already in circulation or being sold through existing retail stock.

To redeem a physical card, sign in to a Steam account, open the Account Details menu, select Activate a product on Steam, and enter the code from the card.

Digital Steam Gift Cards Remain Available, and What This Means for Users

Digital Steam Gift Cards, introduced in 2017, are not affected by the discontinuation. Valve states digital cards will continue to be available and that the company is working to improve the digital gift card experience. Digital gift cards are sold directly through Steam and are sent to the recipient via email or Steam friend.

The end of physical cards may inconvenience users who relied on them as gifts for family members or friends who do not actively use Steam or who prefer not to receive digital codes.

Digital Steam Gift Cards require both the sender and recipient to have Steam accounts and are best suited to recipients who already use the platform.

For users who want to keep using physical cards, retail stock is expected to last through late 2026, with availability declining throughout the year as remaining stock sells through.

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The Settings app will include a new option to remove web (Bing) integration from search results, and there will be a separate setting in the Privacy and Security section to exclude Microsoft Store apps from appearing in search results.

Microsoft has not yet announced a specific timeline or which Insider build the update will arrive in.

What’s Changing in Windows 11 Search

The new options address a long-standing concern with Windows 11. Currently, the search experience combines local files with Bing web results and Microsoft Store listings, even when searching for content stored on the device itself.

The planned updates include a toggle to disable Bing web integration in Windows search and a separate toggle in Privacy and Security to exclude Microsoft Store app listings from search results.

Users have often resorted to editing the Windows Registry to disable Bing integration, but the new toggles offer a supported alternative to achieve the same result without manual registry adjustments.

Other Search and File Explorer Improvements

Microsoft announced at the same meetup that local search will become significantly faster, along with performance improvements in File Explorer.

The company also mentioned that bulk delete operations have already seen a 30% boost in speed in internal Windows builds.

These search enhancements are expected to complement other recent updates to Windows 11. These include the Low Latency Profile CPU-boosting feature introduced in May, the movable Taskbar available in the Experimental channel, and the latest Windows Update pause extensions added to the Beta channel this week.

Windows K2, User Backlash, and Microsoft’s New Focus on Control

The changes reflect Microsoft's renewed focus on responding to feedback from Windows 11 users, as part of the broader Windows K2 initiative.

CEO Satya Nadella has admitted that Windows 11 has lost its way in some areas, with company executives indicating a desire to rebuild user trust after years of complaints about forced integrations, telemetry, and AI features.

The new search controls are expected to be included in a future Windows 11 Insider preview build before they become generally available. No specific date has been announced.

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Following its usual pattern, Linux Lite's major updates are tied to new Ubuntu LTS releases, with version 8 arriving about two years after Linux Lite 7.

Key changes include rewritten helper applications that now use GTK4, Firefox replacing Google Chrome as the default browser, and the Calamares installer replacing Canonical's Ubiquity.

The update also supports in-place upgrades from Linux Lite 7.x to 8.x. The new release has a download size roughly 410MB smaller than its predecessor.

Firefox Replaces Chrome, With Optional Local AI in Linux Lite 8.0

The default web browser has shifted from Google Chrome to Mozilla Firefox. Linux Lite hasn't provided an official reason, but the switch appears to be related to Google's quiet inclusion of a 4GB Gemini Nano model in Chrome and platform restrictions on uBlock Origin beginning in 2024.

Despite moving away from Chrome, Firefox now includes AI features by default through a new MyAI function. This tool offers a selection of local language models.

Linux Lite emphasizes that AI is a controversial topic and presents this feature as offering user choice rather than forcing AI functionalities on users.

\Those who prefer not to use MyAI can remove it with a few simple commands: open a terminal and run the necessary commands, then right-click the MyAI bookmark in Firefox's toolbar and select Delete Bookmark.

Helper Apps Rewritten in GTK4 and New Lite Terminal / Lite Software

Fifteen of Linux Lite's custom helper applications have been rewritten using GTK4, including a new Lite Terminal that replaces Xfce Terminal and a new Lite Software that takes the place of Synaptic. The switch to GTK4 introduces some interface changes.

Traditional menu bars are no longer supported, so the new helper apps now feature hamburger menus and place primary actions in the title bar.

Lite Terminal offers features such as predictive auto-complete and a title bar that turns light red when running with sudo. Lite Software has fewer sorting options compared to Synaptic, with package lists currently sortable only by name.

Other Notable Changes in Linux Lite 8.0

• Calamares now replaces Canonical's Ubiquity as the installer, though the release notes warn of potential issues on less powerful computers.
• An OEM installation mode is included, allowing users to create their own account on first boot.
• Version-to-version in-place upgrades are now supported, making it possible for Linux Lite 7.x users to upgrade directly to 8.x without performing a fresh install.
• A one-click Lite Game Center now installs Steam, Lutris, Proton, Wine, and game controller support in a single action.
• A junk file cleaner has been added.
• The system monitor has been replaced with btop, and a new Lite System Monitor app along with an improved About applet are included.
• The default search engine is now the project's own instance of SearXNG.
• A lower-latency kernel option is available for those who need it.
• Starship has been configured as the custom shell prompt for Bash. By default,

Snap and Flatpak remain excluded, consistent with previous Linux Lite releases.

Secure Boot Limitations, Performance, and Resource Use in Linux Lite 8.0

Linux Lite 8 does not support Secure Boot. Users need to disable Secure Boot in their firmware before installing. The project explains this choice as a way to keep the system simple and reliable, avoiding complications like MOK enrollment and shim issues that could cause problems after kernel updates.

A full installation of Linux Lite 8 requires about 7.8GB of disk space and uses roughly 897MB of RAM when idle after updates.

Immediately following installation, there are around 160 updates available, with about 40 more arriving after the first reboot.

Linux Lite 8.0 is now available for free download from the project's official website.

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These counterfeit sites take orders, deliver nothing, and steal payment information. OpenAI has confirmed that the fraudulent websites have been removed from its search index and that users can report suspicious sites using the company's reporting form.

How Cloned Retail Sites Are Slipping Into ChatGPT Shopping Results

The fraudulent sites mimic the visual design of legitimate retailers and advertise discounts of up to 80%. Their domain names are constructed to appear plausible at a glance, using names such as therussellbromleyofficial or russellandbromleylondon.

Anna Jones of Ask Silver told The Guardian that the AI model may have been "poisoned," meaning cloned web pages created specifically to manipulate AI-generated results could have been introduced into the data ChatGPT draws from.

The Russell & Bromley case illustrates how the scam exploits real-world events. The retailer went into administration in January 2026 and was absorbed by Next, leaving no standalone official website.

Consumers searching for the brand now have no legitimate standalone site to verify against, making fraudulent versions easier to present as credible. Jones stated that scammers appear to be directly exploiting this gap.

Why AI Shopping Results Make This Scam More Effective

AI tools like ChatGPT are designed to reduce friction by summarizing information and presenting direct links as authoritative answers. Users are less likely to scrutinize individual links when the response is presented as a single, consolidated result rather than a list of search engine entries where source quality is more visible.

Louise Baxter, head of the scams team at National Trading Standards, stated: "Consumers are increasingly turning to AI tools for advice and recommendations, but criminals are adapting just as quickly.

The fact that scam websites can appear in AI-generated results is worrying, and is a stark reminder that fraudsters will exploit any new technology that helps them reach potential victims."

Warning Signs to Watch For and How Platforms Are Responding

Fraudulent sites often share common warning signs despite their seemingly legitimate appearance. Users should be cautious of payment requests that ask for bank transfers instead of standard methods like credit cards or PayPal. Look out for domain names that are only slightly different from the official retailer's site.

Significant discounts, often between 50% and 80%, can also be a red flag. Additionally, check for verifiable return addresses or customer service contacts, which many scam sites lack. Displaying information in an AI-generated format can add a layer of false credibility, making these warning signs easier to miss.

Dunelm has advised customers to shop only through the company's official website or authorized app, and confirmed it takes action to remove fraudulent sites when they are found. Russell & Bromley, which was recently acquired, also acknowledged the situation and has been working to have the fake sites taken down.

OpenAI confirmed that the specific sites flagged by Ask Silver have been removed from ChatGPT's search index. The company has not provided details about any systemic measures it may be implementing to prevent similar fraudulent sites from appearing in future search results.

What Users Should Do

When using AI tools to research shopping options, view embedded links as starting points rather than confirmed destinations. Before buying from any retailer mentioned in an AI response, verify the domain separately against the official website of the brand.

Also, check that standard payment options are available, and look for clear signs of a legitimate returns policy and contact details.

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Apple emphasizes that these features are designed with privacy in mind and do not share browsing data with Apple or third parties.

Automatic Password Fixes and AI Tab Organization in Safari

Safari and the Passwords app can now automatically fix compromised or weak passwords with just one tap. Using Apple Intelligence, the system visits the relevant website, signs in, and updates the account to a strong password without any manual effort from the user.

Apple describes this feature as the password manager acting "agentically on a user's behalf." This builds on Safari's current ability to identify weak and compromised passwords, with the new capability to automatically fix issues in addition to existing alerts.

Safari can now automatically group open tabs into relevant topics based on their content. For example, tabs related to planning a trip would be grouped together under a single travel topic.

As new tabs are opened during a session, Safari continues to add them to existing groups or creates new ones. Users don’t need to manually categorize tabs.

Custom Safari Extensions From a Description and New Page Change Notifications

A new feature called Describe an Extension allows users to create custom Safari extensions simply by describing what they'd like in plain language. Safari then generates the extension and adds it to the toolbar.

Apple's example includes creating a button that saves and rates recipes the user has visited. This feature is aimed at users who want more control over their browser without needing to write any code.

The Notify Me feature lets users ask Safari to monitor a specific web page for changes such as a product restock or price drop. Users can specify what they are looking for, and Safari will send a notification when it detects a matching change on that page.

This feature provides a similar function to third-party price tracking tools or RSS-style update monitoring but works directly within Safari.

Availability

Apple introduced new Safari features as part of its broader Apple Intelligence updates during WWDC 2026. These features are scheduled to be released this fall alongside iOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate.

Siri AI and some Apple Intelligence capabilities will also be launching in beta for English-language users later in the year. Availability for EU users on iOS and iPad may differ from Mac at launch.

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The model is available to Pro, Max, and Enterprise customers at no extra charge until June 22. After that date, pricing will be based on usage. Fable 5 uses tokens at a much faster rate than previous Claude models.

This launch comes after Anthropic's April announcement of Mythos, which the company noted could pose security concerns if released without restrictions.

Fable 5 is the first widely accessible version of that model class, with safety measures that prevent or redirect sensitive queries related to offensive cybersecurity, biology, or chemistry toward the previous Opus 4.8 model.

How Claude Fable 5 Differs, and How Quickly It Burns Through Tokens

Claude Mythos is only available to a select group of trusted partners, including government cyberdefense teams and certain life sciences researchers.

Fable 5 uses the same basic model but incorporates safety measures that prevent it from handling the most sensitive types of inquiries. According to Anthropic, these safety features redirect sensitive requests to Opus 4.8 instead of trying to answer them directly.

Fable 5 is Anthropic's most demanding model in terms of computation, using tokens at a significantly higher rate than Opus 4.8. During regular conversational use, token consumption is roughly double that of Opus. When used with Workflow mode and settings set to high or xhigh effort, the rate of consumption increases sharply.

BleepingComputer tested the model and found that Fable 5 used about 1 million tokens in eight minutes during a Workflow session. This drained a $100 Max subscription's daily allowance in just under nine minutes. Workflow is a new system that breaks down complex prompts into smaller tasks and runs parallel subagents to handle them.

The high computational cost is the main reason Anthropic is unable to offer Fable 5 under the same terms as Opus 4.8 and other models.

Availability and Pricing

Fable 5 is now available free of charge to Pro, Max, and Enterprise customers through June 22. After that date, the model will switch to a usage-based pricing plan. Anthropic has not yet announced the per-token costs that will apply once the free period ends.

Claude Code, Anthropic's command-line coding tool, now features Fable 5 as a selectable model option.

To manage token usage during the free period, users should use Fable 5 in standard conversation mode rather than Workflow with high effort settings, which can quickly exhaust daily limits.

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He shared this information in an interview with The Game Business, showing a level of transparency that is rare for a major platform holder.

In October 2025, the cost of Game Pass Ultimate doubled from $14.99 to $29.99 per month. The increase was partly justified by including access to Call of Duty on the day of release. However, this approach proved to be unsustainable.

What Happened After Xbox Doubled the Game Pass Ultimate Price

Asha Sharma, the new Xbox CEO, has cut the price of Game Pass Ultimate to $22.99 per month as one of her first significant actions since taking on the role.

This price reduction came with a trade-off: new Call of Duty releases will no longer be available on Xbox Game Pass on launch day and will instead arrive about a year after the game's release.

While the $22.99 monthly rate is still higher than the pre-October 2025 price, it now includes additional content such as Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics, which were not part of the original Game Pass Ultimate offering.

The subscriber losses confirm what analysts predicted after the October 2025 price increase. At that time, the jump in cost drew immediate criticism from subscribers, with many canceling their memberships publicly.

Analysts who spoke to Windows Central after the subsequent price reduction said it should help grow subscriber numbers, although they noted that rebuilding a user base lost to a price hike takes time.

Sharma has also acknowledged that Game Pass has "become too expensive" and described the price cut as part of a broader effort to improve retention and expand the service.

Ball's confirmation of the impact, which he said affected "millions" but did not provide a precise figure, is the clearest indication yet of how much the price increase harmed the service.

Game Pass Ultimate is currently available at $22.99 per month. Going forward, Call of Duty titles will arrive on the service one year after their release. The subscription also includes Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics.

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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty also returned to the service on June 7 without prior notice. Additionally, Persona 5 Royal rejoined the lineup on June 9.

June 2026 Xbox Game Pass Additions (Wave 1)

The confirmed lineup for June Wave 1 includes several notable releases. On June 7, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will be available on Cloud, Console, and PC in the Ultimate, PC, and Premium editions. This title is returning to the lineup, having been available from March 2023 through February 2025.

On June 8, Solarpunk launches as a day-one release on Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S, available in the Ultimate edition. The same day, Undisputed appears on Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S, also in the Ultimate, PC, and Premium editions.

June 9 sees the return of Persona 5 Royal, available on Cloud, Console, and PC in the Ultimate, Premium, and PC editions. It was previously available from October 2022 to October 2023.

June 11 ushers in several releases, including Beastro on Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S in the Ultimate edition, and Frog Sqwad on the same platforms in the Ultimate and PC editions.

Additionally, Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions will be available on Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S as a Game Preview day-one release.

Further releases on June 16 and 17 include Junkster on Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S, and Denshattack on Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S, both in the Ultimate edition with day-one availability.

On June 17, Shift at Midnight will also be released on Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S in the Ultimate edition as a day-one release.

Solarpunk and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty on Game Pass in June

Solarpunk is a cozy open-world survival game developed by Cyberwave and published by Rokaplay and Metaroot. The game emphasizes peaceful coexistence with nature, featuring airship exploration and automation through solar-powered drones.

It doesn’t include animal exploitation mechanics, instead relying on symbiotic systems like caring for pigs to find truffles. Online cooperative play is supported.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Koei Tecmo's soulslike set in ancient China, returned to Game Pass on June 7 without any prior announcement.

The game had previously been removed from the service in February 2025. Its return coincides with the announcement of a sequel during the 2026 Xbox Games Showcase.

Undisputed Joins Xbox Game Pass Ahead of Its Sequel

Undisputed, a boxing simulation originally released in late 2024, became available on Game Pass on June 8.

The game received mixed reviews at launch; critics praised its realistic fight preparation and RPG-like mechanics but criticized its animation quality and commentary.

Developer Steel City Interactive announced Undisputed 2 in April 2026. Titles in Wave 2 beyond Shift at Midnight and Denshattack are expected to be announced on June 16, alongside the launch of Junkster.

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The feature was recently observed in a WhatsApp beta for Android by WABetaInfo. There is no announced release date, and the feature is still in development and not yet available to all users.

How WhatsApp’s New Scam Alert Feature Works

Scam Alert operates entirely on your device. WhatsApp does not send messages to external servers for analysis. The system checks incoming messages from contacts not saved in your address book and shows a warning within the chat if it detects potential scam activity.

The method is similar to WhatsApp's existing voice transcription feature, which also works completely on-device without sending audio files to servers.

When Scam Alert detects a possible scam, a warning appears directly in the chat. Users have full control and can choose to block and report the contact or dismiss the warning and continue the conversation. The feature does not block communication with unknown contacts.

Local logs are created on your device to record when Scam Alert flags potential scam activity. These logs stay stored locally and are not sent elsewhere.

Default Settings, Privacy Guarantees, and Why Scam Alert Matters Users

According to WABetaInfo, Scam Alert will be disabled by default, meaning users must opt in to activate it. This allows users who do not want any message analysis to continue unaffected, even on their device.

Since the analysis happens locally and messages stay end-to-end encrypted, Meta does not have access to the message contents through this feature.

WhatsApp scam messages from unknown numbers impersonating banks, government agencies, or delivery services continue to be a common issue.

Currently, protections depend on users recognizing spam and reporting it manually. Adding an automated warning system that detects suspicious patterns before the user responds would provide an extra layer of security, especially for those less familiar with typical scam tactics.

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New Build Structure for Windows 11 26H1

Microsoft is rolling out a new build number series for Windows 11 version 26H1. Insiders in the Experimental (26H1) channel will now receive builds in the 28100 series, while a new Beta (26H1) channel based on the 28000 series is also launching.

Insiders can switch between the Beta (26H1) and Experimental (26H1) channels through Settings, Windows Update, Windows Insider Program, and by selecting the experience.

This switch does not require a clean reinstall of Windows and is handled as an in-place upgrade. Microsoft has noted that Windows 11 26H1 is a targeted release for specific silicon, including Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Series devices.

Most Insiders are advised to stay on the default Windows core version in the Advanced options, rather than specifically selecting 26H1.

Beta Channel: Build 26220.8575

The Beta build now allows users to extend Windows Update pauses indefinitely. Previously, it was only possible to pause updates for a limited time. This update lets users extend the pause repeatedly, providing greater control over when updates are installed.

This build also includes several bug fixes. It addresses issues where audio wasn't working for some Insiders after recent flights, as well as reliability problems with Settings, Apps, and Installed Apps.

Additionally, freezes that occurred when interacting with Search, Notepad, or other scenarios in the previous flight have been resolved.

Experimental (26H1): Build 28120.2242

This update includes general improvements and fixes for the 26H1 experience. It also expands the rollout of Administrator Protection, which can now be enabled directly through Settings under Privacy and Security, Windows Security, Account Protection. Turning on the feature requires a restart.

Previously, Administrator Protection was only available through IT administrator configuration. The new Settings toggle makes the feature accessible to individual users who want to enable it without needing group policy management.

Beta (26H1): Build 28020.2236 Minor Improvements

This update includes a small number of general improvements and fixes. It does not introduce any specific new features.

No new builds were released this week for either the standard Experimental channel or the Future Platforms channel, including the Canary 29500 series.

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