Technology

• Prime Video has cast Lexi Minetree in its Legally Blonde prequel series.
• It marks Minetree's first TV lead of her career.
• Reese Witherspoon is returning to executive produce the project, who starred as Elle Woods in the original Legally Blonde movie in 2001.

Prime Video announced plans to produce a Legally Blonde prequel series last year, and now that the streaming platform has finally cast its young Elle Woods, we’re another step closer to the revival of my ultimate comfort movie – and I can’t contain my excitement.

Yesterday (February 13), Amazon MGM Studios and Reese Witherspoon, who originated the role of Elle Woods in the 2001 movie, announced that Lexi Minetree (Law and Order: SVU & The Murdaugh Murders) has been cast as the lead in the new Prime Video series titled Elle, following Deadline’s report that Minetree and Madison Wolfe were the remaining two contenders for the role. This will be Minetree’s first TV lead role, which is speculated to arrive on one of the best streaming services in late 2025.

Witherspoon made the announcement on Instagram (see below), posting a video of her telling Minetree the good news in person stating: “We had to make a really hard decision the other day and we wanted to tell you in person because you’ve just worked really hard. And we just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to audition anymore because you got the part. You’re Elle Woods”.

A post shared by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon)

A photo posted by on

What can you expect from Prime Video’s Elle?

Although we don’t have an exact date for Prime Video’s Legally Blonde prequel series other than its rumored arrival for late 2025, the streaming platform has given insight to what we can expect to see from its story. Taking place prior to her venture into Harvard Law School the series follows a young Elle Woods in her days at high school, chronicling her earlier life and experiences that helped her become the icon that we know and love from the movie.

It’s no argument that Reese Witherspoon carried the original movie with her unforgettable portrayal of Elle Woods and I’m relieved that she’s returning to the world of Legally Blonde as one of the show’s executive producers, alongside Lauren Neustadter, and Lauren Kisilevsky, and show creator Laura Kittrell. Since it’s confirmed that Witherspoon is involved with the Prime Video project, I have my fingers crossed that we’ll be reunited with more familiar faces from the original movie – I’m talking about you, Jennifer Coolidge.

Indeed, as far as comfort movies go, Legally Blonde (2001) is one I often revisit and it’s even better now that it’s one of the best Prime Video movies as it was added to the service as part of everything new in February in the US (it's also available in the UK but Australians will have to head over to Stan or MGM to stream the original movie).

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Elon Musk's newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has received yet another legal complaint about breaching the privacy of millions of Americans.

Privacy advocate group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, alongside a coalition of privacy defenders, multiple federal employee unions, and individual federal employees.

The aim is to prevent DOGE from accessing the data stored by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and request the deletion of any information Musk's department has collected.

The EFF joins the wave of worried privacy experts and worker unions across the US filing lawsuits against the new government agency over supposedly illegal data access.

DOGE's "unlawful" access to data

The OPM dataset contains "extraordinarily sensitive" details about all federal workers and anyone who has ever applied for a federal job, an expert explains. These include identifiable information such as names and social security numbers, work experiences, union activities, salaries, personal health data, and even classified information nondisclosure agreements.

According to the EFF, the mishandling of this information could open up the door to abuses, putting the safety and privacy of millions of people in the country at risk. For instance, Musk made headlines last year for publicly disclosing the names of government employees he wanted to fire after taking office.

"The question is not 'what happens if this data falls into the wrong hands.' The data has already fallen into the wrong hands, according to the law, and it must be safeguarded immediately," wrote EFF in its announcement.

The law EFF refers to is the federal Privacy Act of 1974, under which access to this database and the disclosure of information should be strictly restricted. The news that DOGE, as recently reported by the Washington Post, could even modify or delete any existing OPM records is even more concerning.

All in all, EFF writes: "OPM’s data is extraordinarily sensitive, OPM gave it to DOGE, and this violates the Privacy Act. We are asking the court to block any further data sharing and to demand that DOGE immediately destroy any and all copies of downloaded material."

BREAKING: We are suing DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management to stop the brazen and illegal data sharing of federal employee data with the “government efficiency” group. https://t.co/qtPvyNESKtFebruary 11, 2025

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order right after his inauguration ceremony tasking Musk's DOGE with restoring "competence and effectiveness to our federal government." This move, however, wasn't without controversy.

The EFF lawsuit is indeed the latest action against the billionaire's new government agency. The first legal complaint was filed by the National Security Counselors just moments after DOGE was officially recognized, under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Other legal actions followed suit, as various privacy experts around the country got increasingly worried about DOGE's supposedly illegal data access. For instance, a coalition of labor unions also filed a lawsuit only a day before the EFF, on similar premises.

Both came just a few days after a similar lawsuit led a federal judge to temporarily block DOGE's personnel from accessing Treasury Department information.

The EFF writes: "Violations of Americans’ privacy have played out across multiple agencies, without oversight or safeguards, and EFF is glad to join the brigade of lawsuits to protect this critical information."

• Assassin's Creed Shadows pre-order sales seem to be strong
• Ubisoft says they are in line with those of the second most successful entry in the franchise
• The new comes as Ubisoft begins to cut costs

Assassin's Creed Shadows seems to be doing well, with pre-order sales in line with one of the biggest entries in the franchise.

As set out in Ubisoft's latest quarterly financial results and spotted by Eurogamer, the company has said that pre-order numbers are "solid" and "in line with those of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the second most successful entry in the franchise."

Assassin's Creed Odyssey has the franchise's then best launch when it arrived back in 2018, with early sales that rapidly outpaced those of its predecessors Assassin's Creed Origins, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and Assassin's Creed Unity.

This record was then only broken by 2020's Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which went on to become the best selling entry in the series to date.

This would certainly suggest that Assassin's Creed Shadows is on track to be a roaring success, which is definitely some that Ubisoft needs at the moment. The company recently began a series of cost cutting measures after a slew of major titles failed to live up to expectations, which included the shutting down of its studio in Royal Leamington Spa, England.

Our own Managing Editor Rob Dwiar has already tried Assassin's Creed Shadows for himself at a preview event, reporting that it seems on track to deliver a bold, beautiful, and brutal journey across Feudal Japan.

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• AMD has confirmed its full RDNA 4 launch event for February 28
• These initial RX 9070 models will go on sale in early March
• That sets up the RX 9070 for a showdown against Nvidia’s RTX 5070 which hits shelves on March 6

AMD has revealed that its RDNA 4 graphics cards will get a full launch event – as opposed to the fleeting announcements made at CES 2025 – in two weeks, ahead of the March release for these GPUs.

David McAfee, who is AMD’s VP and GM of Ryzen and Radeon, let us know the date and time to mark in our calendars is February 28 at 8am EST (5am PST, 1pm UK time) via a post on X.

The wait is almost over. Join us on February 28 at 8 AM EST for the reveal of the next-gen @AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series. Get ready to make it yours when it hits shelves in early March. RSVP by subscribing to the AMD YouTube channel: https://t.co/4rkVxeoDIaFebruary 13, 2025

The AMD exec also said that the long-awaited RX 9070 models will hit shelves in early March.

When the RX 9070 XT and plain RX 9070 were announced back at CES 2025 last month, the broad expectation was that they’d arrive earlier in the first quarter, rather than later.

That hope had cold water poured over it when AMD confirmed these RDNA 4 graphics cards were delayed to March, and McAfee took to X in order to explain why. Namely to ensure that AMD’s Adrenalin graphics drivers are fully tuned and ready to go to ensure the best performance for RX 9070 GPUs out of the gate, and also to bring in more support for FSR 4 in PC games (achieving the same end, effectively).

(Image credit: Shutterstock) Analysis: One final worry…

Crucially, McAfee also mentioned that another reason for putting off the release of RDNA 4 GPUs to March was to build up stock levels of the graphics cards at retail.

Now, I’m reading the release date being set at “early March” to mean the first week of next month, and that makes sense if we turn our attention to Nvidia’s plans. We just heard from AMD’s main GPU rival that its GeForce RTX 5070 is going to be on sale come March 5.

So, it looks to me very much like there’s going to be a head-to-head clash of the mid-range GPUs, more-or-less, just after March rolls around, with AMD aiming to take Nvidia on directly here.

Team Red may well be buoyed by the general shakiness of stock levels for Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs so far, and (believable enough) rumors that the RTX 5070 may not be that much different from the RTX 5080 and 5090 in this respect. After all, Nvidia did announce that the RTX 5070 models would both launch in February – the Ti version, and vanilla spin – and has then pushed back the non-Ti graphics card to March. That broken promise doesn’t feel like a good sign, stock-wise, to me.

In contrast, AMD seems more confident about relatively robust levels of supply for RDNA 4, and indeed we know that these GPUs have been at retailers since January. That’s thanks to leaked photos from those shops, and moreover, Team Red’s own confirmation that board-making partners had “started building initial inventory at retailers” back in January.

On top of that, there are some compellingly positive rumors about the potential performance levels we’ll see from RX 9070 models to boot, and sources elsewhere indicate AMD really is taking its time over this next-gen GPU launch to get it right.

The only worry that remains is pricing, and whether AMD’s apparent confidence with this mid-range showdown against Nvidia’s RTX 5070 models might mean the company pushes a bit higher with asking prices for the RX 9070 variants.

If you scan through the replies to McAfee’s post on X, that’s the consistent thread of worry throughout from the respondents who have less positive thoughts on RDNA 4. In short, the fear is that Nvidia’s stumbling Blackwell launch might mean AMD decides to charge more for RX 9070 GPUs – although having set up its stall as these being mid-range graphics cards, there’s surely a limit to how far Team Red might be able to push here, if this was a temptation?

Time will tell, and I remain hopeful that AMD won’t drive to any excesses here – this is a great opportunity to take the fight to Nvidia, after all. At the same time, I’m not anticipating a surprise with lower pricing either, as given how the market stands right now, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Still, whatever happens, we need to see exactly how RX 9070 performance pans out before we can really get a perspective on pricing, anyway.

Via VideoCardz

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Full spoilers follow for Captain America: Brave New World.

Captain America: Brave New World has spread its wings in theaters worldwide. The first Marvel movie of 2025 isn't all it's cracked up to be – my Captain America: Brave New World review explains why – but it lays the groundwork for what's to come as the Marvel Multiverse Saga barrels towards its inevitable conclusion.

If you haven't watched the Marvel Phase 5 film yet, I'd suggest bookmarking this page and reading its contents once you have because major spoilers follow for the Anthony Mackie-starring flick. For non spoiler-based coverage, read my review above, or get the lowdown on Sam Wilson's first big-screen outing as Cap 2.0 by way of my Captain America: Brave New World hub.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained: how does Sam Wilson defeat Red Hulk?

It's words, not actions, that help Sam Wilson to stop Red Hulk (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

With the power of words! Alright, I'm being facetious, but that's how Sam Wilson manages to a) stop Red Hulk – the gamma-irradiated alter-ego of US President Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross – from rampaging across Washington, DC and b) turning Cap 2.0 into pulp.

Wilson is no super-soldier so, despite his best efforts (and with a Wakanda-made, nanotech-infused super-suit and various gadgets at his disposal), he's no match for Ross' raging superpowered alias. That much is clear with how easily Red Hulk destroys Wilson's Redwing drones, his ability to withstand hits from Cap's vibranium shield, and the effortlessness with which he tears Wilson's costume apart.

But, as Brave New World's director Julius Onah told me ahead of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film's launch, Wilson's superpower is "his empathy and his heart". He was formerly an army veteran counselor, so he knows how to speak to people and engage with them in a caring, considerate manner.

That's exactly what he does in this movie's action-packed finale. Knowing he can't beat Red Hulk in a fist-fight, Wilson talks his foe down by appealing to Ross' parental side and saying he can still have a relationship with estranged daughter Betty if he surrenders. It's... a bit weird that Wilson's first mention of Betty doesn't work before their high-octane battle, but hey, second time's a charm.

Anyway, Ross listens to Wilson, calms down, and reverts back to his human form. After being checked out of hospital, Ross is transferred to The Raft, a high-security underwater prison for superpowered individuals that was first introduced in the MCU in 2016's Captain America: Civil War.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained: does the titular hero reform The Avengers?

There's no time for Cap 2.0 to rebuild 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' in this movie (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

No. Despite Ross' initial request for Wilson to help him rebuild The Avengers, events that transpire in Captain America 4 means it doesn't happen.

Well, not yet. In the movie's final scene, Wilson tells Joaquin Torres, who's still in hospital recovering the severe injuries he sustained during the US-Japan conflict around Celestial Island, that he plans on reforming Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Whether he'll has by the time the next Avengers film rolls around (more on this later), though, is unclear.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained: Bucky Barnes' cameo and setting up Thunderbolts*

Bucky Barnes (center) makes a crowd-pleasing cameo in Captain America 4 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

There aren't many cameos in Brave New World. In fact, there's only one really big character appearance in the entire film: James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. I didn't expect to see him because, well, he's set to star in Thunderbolts*, the final MCU Phase 5 flick that'll release worldwide on May 2.

I was convinced, then, that he'd be too busy dealing with matters in that movie to show up in Captain America 4. Yet, here he is, lending his support to Wilson as Torres undergoes surgery on his aforementioned life-threatening injuries.

So, how does Bucky's appearance set up what's to come in Thunderbolts*? The first and most obvious revelation is that Barnes is jetting off to attend a charity fundraiser after his brief catch-up with Wilson. The first trailer for Thunderbolts* revealed he's on the guestlist for an expensive bash hosted by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, so his presence at said event is a foregone conclusion.

The other tease is something I didn't expect to learn now. As Barnes leaves, Ross' security advisor Ruth Bat-Seraph arrives with a coffee for Wilson. As she passes Barnes, she does a double-take before asking Wilson if she just saw "future Congressman" James Barnes. Marvel's newest trailer for Thunderbolts* shows a dapper-looking Bucky sitting in on a US Senate hearing, but there's been no confirmation (until now, anyway) that he's become a government official following events in Falcon and the Winter Soldier (FATWS). Regardless, other public footage of Thunderbolts* confirms he won't spend the entire film engaging in congressional debates – indeed, he'll be getting his hands dirty again as he leads a ragtag band of anti-heroes against another potentially world-ending threat.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained: erm, where's Bruce Banner/The Hulk?

Why isn't Mark Ruffalo's Smart Hulk in Captain America 4? (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Brave New World is a sequel to 2008's The Incredible Hulk in all but name, so you might have expected a certain lean, mean, green machine to join Barnes on the cameo list. However, Bruce Banner and his superpowered alter-ego (i.e. The Hulk) don't show up – and I'm sure you're wondering why.

The honest answer is: I don't know. The last time we saw Banner was in 2023's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The Disney Plus show's final episode revealed Banner – or, rather, Smart Hulk, who's essentially the result of Banner merging his personality and mind with Hulk's body – had a son named Skaar. It's likely, then, that he's spent the past two years getting to know his first-born.

Handy though Smart Hulk would've been in Cap's climactic showdown with Red Hulk, his possible appearance would've overshadowed Wilson in his own movie. For that reason alone, it's not a huge shock that Smart Hulk wasn't called upon by his fellow hero, though I suspect he would've been drafted in if Wilson had failed to stop Red Hulk.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained: is there a mid-credits scene?

Everyone standing near the theater's nearest exit door to watch each Marvel movie's mid- and post-credits scenes like... (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Nope. The fourth film in the Captain America movie series doesn't have a mid-credits scene.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained: okay, what about a post-credits scene?

Sneaking back into your screening after you forgot to wait around for end credits stingers like... (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Thankfully, one of 2025's many new movies does have an end credits stinger, so there is a reason to stay until the end (you should do anyway to appreciate those who worked on this movie, FYI).

In it, Wilson return to The Raft to visit the incarcerated Samuel Sterns. The latter was arrested in Cap 4's third act for brainwashing countless Americans and effectively sending them to their deaths as his pawns in this grand game he's been playing from the shadows. Oh, he was also apprehended for escaping his secret lab at Camp Echo One and turning Thaddeus Ross into Red Hulk.

But I digress. After a bit of back and forth between Wilson and Sterns, the latter goads Wilson by telling him he's not ready for what's to come. Indeed, Sterns says he's crunched the numbers and determined that something big is going to happen. The conversation ends with Sterns informing Wilson that 'The Others' are on their way, with the screen cutting to black a few seconds later.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained: who or what are 'The Others' that Samuel Sterns mentions?

Will we see more than one Captain America in either or both of the next Avengers movies? (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

The most obvious answer is that it's to do with the multiverse. Marvel's Multiverse Saga, which began with Phase 4 and ends with Marvel Phase 6, has periodically shown us that there's an infinite number of universes that exist parallel to the MCU, which has been designated Earth-616 (or Earth-199999, if you listen to Miguel O'Hara in Sony's animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse).

Sorry, I'm getting off-track again! It's incredibly likely, then, that 'The Others' is referring these other universes. We know that the Multiverse Saga is going to end with an Endgame-sized event that'll take place across Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which will presumably bring this Saga's overarching narrative to a close. The latter film's subtitle is also a clear reference to the two 'Secret Wars' comic book series that Marvel has made, too. Each series' storyline resulted in the collapse of the multiverse and the remaining fragments of these realities coalescing together to form a single planet known as Battleworld. I'd be amazed, then, if Avengers: Secret Wars doesn't incorporate this plot element into its narrative. By the way, you can read both 'Secret Wars' literary series, plus over 30,000 other comics, via the Marvel Unlimited app, which you can sign up to using the link and 50% off code below.

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Anyway, Sterns' forewarning suggests that the arrival of 'The Others' will create numerous Incursions (essentially, the collision of two universes that destroys one or both entirely) and lead to Battleworld's creation. Wilson was almost ill-equipped to deal with Red Hulk in this movie, so he definitely won't be ready for, as Sterns elegantly put it, "what comes next".

The other possibility is 'The Others' refers to every other universe's Sam Wilson/Captain America, who may be far better and/or more powerful and/or potentially evil versions of Mackie's character. Doomsday and Secret Wars are going to over-stuffed with heroes and villains as it is, though, so introducing numerous multiversal variants of each character would be overkill, in my view. I predict that 'The Others', then, is referring to the MCU's universal siblings.

Captain America: Brave New World ending explained: how does it set up The Fantastic Four: First Steps or Avengers: Doomsday?

Brave New World doesn't pave the way for events to come in The Fantastic Four's first MCU outing (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Sterns' ominous reference aside, Brave New World doesn't set events in motion for either of these films.

For one, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in an alternate universe to the MCU. That's been made clear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' teaser trailer, First Steps' first poster, and a Marvel.com article that teased some key story details about The Fantastic Four's next big-screen outing. Captain America 4, then, has no business establishing what will play out in a completely different reality to the one it takes place in.

It's a similar situation for Avengers 5, aka Avengers: Doomsday. It's no secret that Robert Downey Jr is returning to the MCU to play The Fantastic Four's legendary villain Doctor Victor von Doom, and that he'll be the primary antagonist of the next two Avengers films. He seems nailed on to appear in First Steps in a cameo role or a post-credits scene ahead of his official MCU debut in Doomsday, which makes far more sense from a narrative set-up perspective. it would've been incredibly strange, then, if Doom had shown up in Cap 4 or if there had been any references to him in Brave New World.

For more Marvel coverage, read my guides on how to watch the Marvel movies in order, Daredevil: Born Again, and the best Marvel movies.

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• A new rumor suggests the iPhone 17 Pro could have a very different design to what most leaks so far have suggested
• However, the source has a mixed track record, and we're not convinced
• We've also heard again that the iPhone 17 Pro Max might have a smaller Dynamic Island than its predecessor

One thing most iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max leaks seem to be in agreement on is that the design will be changing, with several sources suggesting the phone will have a Pixel-like camera bar and a two-tone rear. Now though, another possible design has emerged.

In his Front Page Tech YouTube show, Jon Prosser, a leaker with a mixed track record, has shown off a strange-looking iPhone 17 Pro camera layout, with the lenses arranged in the same triangular pattern, as on the iPhone 16 Pro, but they’re housed in a large black camera island, with empty space in the middle and the flash off to the right. You can see how this looks below.

It’s an odd, arguably ugly design, and one that doesn’t quite match with previous iPhone 17 series design leaks, though there are some similarities. Both this and earlier leaks showed a camera bar running the full width of the phone, but the bar was much narrower in earlier leaks, meaning the lenses would have had to run horizontally along it.

(Image credit: Front Page Tech / @asherdipps‬)

We’d say the earlier leaks look better, but as Prosser notes in the video, they come with a problem, in that having lenses arranged horizontally along the bar could get in the way of the phone’s Face ID components. So he believes that for Apple to have a horizontal camera bar, either it would have to be housed further down the back of the phone, or be more like the one he’s showing here.

According to Prosser’s sources, it’s this latter design that Apple is actually using, but despite Prosser’s claims we’d take this with a serious side of salt. As mentioned, Prosser has a mixed track record for leaks, and this design looks like an earlier sketch that was shared by Majin Bu – another leaker with a mixed track record – and which Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who has a much better hit rate for breaking Apple news, claims is “fake.”

The “iPhone 17 Pro” renders on YouTube tonight appear to be based on this fake late January sketch. https://t.co/NpMBlfnHZYFebruary 14, 2025

Further complicating things is the fact that Apple may well have prototypes in multiple designs, so it’s not impossible that all of these leaks are correct, in so much as Apple might be testing these ideas, but which if any of them will be used for the final iPhone 17 Pro design remains to be seen.

For now, we’re skeptical of Prosser’s claims since they are at odds with most sources, but it’s not impossible that this is what we’ll see, and it would at least leave it looking less like a Google Pixel.

Changes up front too

And while it’s mostly the back of the iPhone 17 Pro – and likely also the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Max – that will probably be changing, there may be some changes to the front of the iPhone 17 Pro Max as well, with leaker Digital Chat Station (via GSMArena) claiming that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will have a smaller Dynamic Island than its predecessor.

This will apparently be achieved by reducing the size of the components, and it’s not the first time we’ve heard that a smaller Dynamic Island might be planned – though not all sources agree that the Dynamic Island will be smaller, so this too we’d take with a pinch of salt.

Interestingly though, Digital Chat Station added that the same smaller Dynamic Island design will also be used with the foldable iPad when Apple launches one, and with a future iPad Pro model. So Apple could be changing the designs of quite a few of its products.

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• The UK's AI Safety Institute is now the AI Security Institute
• The renaming represents a shift towards cybersecurity
• Anthropic has also partnered with the Government

The new Labour Government has gone all in on AI since taking power in 2024, and was supported by the UK’s AI Safety Institute (AISI) - but not for much longer. The institution will remain, but the government has announced that this will now be renamed to UK AI Security Institute - signalling a definite shift towards cybersecurity.

But what’s the difference? Well security is focused on defending against things like cyberattacks, and mitigating security risks including how the technology can be leveraged against national security or can enable crimes such as fraud or developing chemical weapons.

Safety has a slightly wider scope - also aimed at mitigating the risks of cyberattacks, but going further to protect against misinformation spread by chatbots, and aims to assess the societal impacts of AI models, rather than just the immediate cybersecurity threats.

New partnerships

The UK’s widely publicised Plan for Change, released in January 2025, leant heavily on AI, introducing ‘Growth Zones’, handing public data over to train models, and aiming to see AI ‘mainlined into the veins’ of public services - but not once did the document mention the words ‘harm’, ‘safety’, or ‘threat’, TechCrunch noted.

Despite these omissions, the work of the AI Security Institute is still the same, says Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle;

“The work of the AI Security Institute won’t change, but this renewed focus will ensure our citizens – and those of our allies - are protected from those who would look to use AI against our institutions, democratic values, and way of life.”

As part of the new plan, the government has agreed to a new partnership with AI firm Anthropic, working to ‘realise the technology’s opportunities, with a continued focus on the responsible development and deployment of AI systems.’ This will include ‘insights’ on how AI can ‘transform public services and improve the lives of citizens’, as well as drive scientific development.

This is part of the UK’s ambition to attract tech investments from around the world - trying to foster an environment perfect for AI innovation, seemingly free of safety regulations.

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• The PS5 just had its best financial quarter results ever
• The console shipped a staggering 9.5 million units in Q3 FY24
• Monthly active users also saw a healthy uptick in the same period

It seems that folks are still plenty eager to add a PlayStation 5 console to their gaming setups, as the system has just enjoyed its best financial quarter on record.

This is per financial results recently published by Sony for its Q3 FY24. Page 10 of the report shows that the company shifted 9.5 million PS5 consoles during this financial quarter. While that's an astronomical jump from Q1 (2.8 million) and Q2 (3.8 million) these Q3 numbers were most likely bolstered by the release of the PS5 Pro.

This brings the total number of PS5 consoles shipped to around 15.7 million for this financial year so far. Last financial year, Sony shipped a total of 20.8 million PS5 units, and with a quarter left to go for this financial year, the console could well be on track to beating that, too.

This brings the PS5's lifetime sales so far up to 75 million which, per GameSpot, is just shy of the 76.5 million PlayStation 4 consoles shipped over the same amount of time. In that case, it should be stressed that the PS4 Pro launched earlier in that generation than the PS5 Pro did in this one. PS4 family units were also cheaper than their PS5 counterparts.

Another highlight from the financial report show that there has also been a decent uptick in monthly active users. Q3 FY24 peaked at 129 million monthly active users compared to the previous year's 123 million from the same quarter. You could likely look at the success of live service titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Helldivers 2 for getting a few million extra folks to log on each month.

Sony has two high-profile exclusive games launching this year in Ghost of Yōtei and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, though as both currently lack a release date beyond a vague '2025' window and it's unclear whether or not they'll land in Q4 FY24.

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• Gen research claims malicious apps on major app stores are on the rise
• New banking trojans, predatory loan apps, and similar, have been spotted
• Official app stores are still a safer bet than third-party ones

App stores are becoming an increasingly major security concern, as more and more malicious apps are discovered in stores owned by major brands, experts have warned.

A new report from cybersecurity researchers Gen claims it observed new mobile bankers (phone applications designed to steal banking information) launched in the fourth quarter of 2024, often disguising themselves as Visa apps, dating apps, or Chrome browsers. Gen added that the well-known BankBot banker compromised 236% more devices compared to the previous quarter.

Besides banker apps, malicious loan apps surged as well, the researchers said. These promise quick money, but demand excessive permissions (SMS, photos, sensitive data) which they later use in extortion, threatening to publish victim data unless they pay up.

Generally safe

Gen also noted cybercriminals are adopting novel distribution tactics in app stores. Recently, they discovered a new malware strain disguised as a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator. The app was spread through the Amazon App Store.

Major app stores like the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Samsung Galaxy Store are generally safe because these companies invest heavily in security measures to protect users. They use automated malware detection, manual app reviews, and strict developer policies to prevent harmful apps from reaching their customers.

Features like Google Play Protect scan apps in real-time, while Apple’s notarization process ensures apps are vetted before approval. Regular security updates, user reporting systems, and app removal policies further enhance safety.

Obviously, no platform is completely risk-free. We’ve seen malicious apps make their way into these stores in the past, and we’ll probably see them in the future, as well. However, these app stores provide a significantly safer environment than third-party or unofficial sources.

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• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has suddenly shut down on iOS
• Square Enix says the problem lies with an unsolvable in-app purchase bug
• The specific problem has been speculated on by users

There’s been some surprising news in the world of Final Fantasy, as the game’s developer Square Enix recently shut down Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on iOS without a warning. The move only struck the game on iOS, with other platforms being unaffected, leaving iOS users wondering what on earth had happened.

According to Square Enix, the issue centered on in-app purchases within the game. In particular, a blog post by the company revealed that “we have been receiving reports of customers unable to access the additional content they purchased for the iOS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.” This problem affects the full, paid version of the game too.

Unfortunately, Square Enix has taken the drastic step of shutting down the game on iOS entirely. The developer said that “Further investigation revealed that we are unable to completely fix the bug and implement the new changes, making it unlikely to resume service for the game.”

Square Enix believes the problem lies with “changes made to the in-app purchases model.” While this seems a little vague, some have speculated that the decision could be due to a recent change to Apple's in-app purchase verification. If true, this could be what has caused the disruption to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles – although it’s not clear why Square Enix couldn’t update the game to be compliant.

How to get a refund

(Image credit: Square Enix)

If you’ve bought in-app purchases in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on iOS and have been affected by this bug, Square Enix has laid out the steps you can take to get a refund.

To be eligible, you need to have made an in-app purchase in the game in January 2024 or later. The list of affected items includes the full version unlock, the Magic Wallet, the Memory Crystal Pack, and more. The full list can be found in Square Enix’s blog post.

To get your money back, Square Enix advises you to contact Apple Support and request a refund from them. Square Enix’s support team will be available to help until August 31, 2025.

It’s unfortunate to see the game be completely pulled from the App Store. While we would hope that Square Enix is able to find a fix, judging by the company’s own words, it doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen.

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• Google Gemini can now remember previous conversations
• The memory functionality is rolling out now to Google One AI Premium subscribers
• ChatGPT has had similar functionality for a year, and it's one of the best features of any AI chatbot

Google has just added an upgraded memory feature to Gemini that allows you to ask the AI chatbot questions based on past conversations.

The new "recall" feature is rolling out to all users who subscribe to Google One AI Premium, a paid monthly subscription that grants access to Gemini's best features. With recall, you'll be able to ask Gemini about previous conversations and pick up from where you left off, allowing the AI to feel more alive and aware of your history. Previously, Gemini had no recollection of previous chats, so you'd have to remind it of important details.

This huge upgrade to Google Gemini brings the AI chatbot up-to-speed with competitor ChatGPT, which has had a well-functioning memory feature for over a year now. The difference is, ChatGPT's offering is available for free and doesn't require a monthly subscription to access its functionality. That said, Google could be testing the recall feature before rolling it out to free Gemini users, although currently, we've had no information of that happening.

This new update comes off the back of Gemini's November update that added the ability for the chatbot to remember certain things about you based on your interests and personal preferences. Unlike this new update, you'd have to go to Gemini's "Saved Info" tab and pre-fill information for the AI to reference in conversations.

When ChatGPT introduced memory last year it completely changed the way I interacted with AI, allowing me to speak naturally with the chatbot and spot nuances where it was able to reference the past in very useful ways. Until now, I've been put off from using Gemini because of its lack of memory, but that's all changed. Gemini's recall feature is rolling out in English to Gemini One AI Premium users now (although I don't have access yet), and Google says the update will be available for other languages in the coming weeks.

The context we needed

Gemini's ability to remember previous conversations gives Google's AI chatbot a whole new level of usefulness. In the past, I've been frustrated by Gemini's lack of context to my prompts when I've asked similar questions in old chats. This was never an issue if you used one single chat with Gemini, but considering the range of models from Gemini 2.0 Flash to Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental, I can quickly rack up multiple discussions at once.

Now, Gemini will be able to take information from all of my chats and have the personal context to reference them in any way I need. Things like "Remember that time I talked to you about train travel? What was the route you told me to take?" can now be used in Gemini, and that's a huge step in making AI more conversational and more accessible.

Talking about accessibility, hopefully, Google plans to roll out this memory feature to free users, as I truly believe a memory function is one of the most important features for any AI chatbot. Until then, I'll still recommend ChatGPT to my friends and family, after all, OpenAI's model has the memory ofan elephant, and without paying for it.

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