• Apple is rumored to be working on an AI-powered update for the Apple Support app
• Code hints at a 'Support Assistant' that will help users troubleshoot Apple products
• I used to work at the Genius Bar and think this idea could be excellent if done correctly

Apple could be about to add an AI assistant to the Apple Support app, and that would be excellent news for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users around the world.

First spotted by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris, new code hints at an AI-powered 'Support Assistant' coming to the Apple Support app.

According to Perris, "The code states that the Support Assistant 'uses generative models,' and that it will provide answers 'related to certain Apple products and services' Apple warns that generative models can sometimes provide 'incorrect, misleading, incomplete, offensive, or harmful outputs,' and that customers should not rely on information from Support Assistant as a substitute for professional advice."

At the moment, the Apple Support app lets you talk to a real-life Genius Bar member about issues with your products, and allows you to receive troubleshooting support without the need of heading to your local Apple Store.

While there are no details on when this AI-powered assistant will launch, this could be a huge improvement in the way we access Apple Support, and as an ex-Apple Genius Bar employee, I'm going to explain why.

AI for the better

I worked at Apple's Genius Bar for nearly four years while studying journalism at university, so I've had many encounters with Apple Support behind the scenes and as a customer.

The Apple Support app is excellent, and is one of the main reasons I recommend Apple products to my family members who are looking to buy new tech. I truly believe the Genius Bar is one of Apple's best products, and AI is only going to make it better.

I can't count the number of times customers would travel long distances to come to the Apple Store, only for the issue they were experiencing to be an incredibly simple fix.

With an AI-powered assistant, Apple users could get pointed in the right direction every single time rather than relying on the customer to select the correct service path.

The Apple Support app already asks a few questions to make sure the customer gets the right support, whether that be online, at the store, or via support articles. However, adding AI chatbot capabilities would hopefully improve that experience even more, alleviating pressure on Genius Bar employees and improving the customer experience.

Adding AI chatbots to customer service might sound infuriating, but as long as Apple uses generative AI as a way to improve the customer experience, then I think this rumored feature would be genius.

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• Windows 11 could be getting 'dynamic' wallpaper driven by AI
• That's according to a leaker who's found clues in preview builds of the OS
• Microsoft has tried this idea in the past, mind, before abandoning it - but this time round, things will hopefully be different

Microsoft is supposedly thinking about introducing some kind of AI-powered wallpaper to Windows 11 (not for the first time, I might add).

Well-known purveyor of Microsoft-related gossip, PhantomOfEarth, recently posted on X to inform us of the work which is seemingly underway to produce 'dynamic' backgrounds for Windows 11.

Microsoft is working on AI desktop background stuff yet again, this time around:"Dynamic background""Your background will automatically update based on your selections"June 23, 2025

What kind of dynamic backgrounds are planned, exactly? Well, that's not clear, and we aren't given any details as to the precise nature of this feature, except that the wallpaper will "automatically update based on your selections".

This info was dug up from recent preview builds of Windows 11, and Windows Latest highlighted the above post on X, observing that it attempted to uncover toggles for the mentioned options, but couldn't. So, it looks like it's still very early days for the potential capability.

Analysis: Bringing wallpapers to life

(Image credit: Sergey Kisselev / Behance.net / Microsoft)

We must be particularly wary here, because Microsoft has worked on dynamic (also known as 'live') wallpapers in the past, and then scrapped the idea. Indeed, the concept of AI-powered backgrounds for Windows 11 has been floating around for a long time.

You may even recall that components for live wallpapers were present in Windows 11 23H2, hidden under the hood, for some time, before they were stripped out in 24H2, as Microsoft obviously thought better of the idea. Which I felt was rather a shame, as some of these concepts looked very smart (you can see one of them in the above image).

What we have here is a far more nebulous rumor, hence the need for more than the usual helping of caution. That said, Microsoft has been busy trying to jam more and more AI into Windows 11, and to me, this seems like an obvious enough area to grace with AI, having it bring some extra fanciness to your backgrounds (if you want that).

By which I mean not just fancy dynamic wallpapers in terms of animated elements, or parallax kind of effects - which may well be part of the plan - but also having AI perform nifty tricks such as changing the appearance of a wallpaper based on the time of day, for example. (Like the forest wallpaper in macOS Sequoia, where the lighting changes throughout the day).

We're told the background will update based on 'selections' you make, so there could be various options to turn on (or off), or perhaps various background themes to select from. With AI in the mix, I'm guessing that if this is the path Microsoft is intent on travelling down with wallpapers, we may get suggested backgrounds eventually based on your habits within Windows (if you allow the AI access to that data, of course).

All this remains to be seen, though, and even if this rumor is correct as of now, Microsoft may yet think better of the idea down the line, as it's done in the past. The obvious drawback with more elaborate ideas for wallpapers is the increased drain on system resources compared to static backgrounds, which will be a particular area of concern for lesser-spec PCs. On those machines, though, you can simply not use dynamic wallpapers.

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• A new mysterious mode has appeared on some users' ChatGPT accounts
• "Study together" lets you learn subjects with ChatGPT, with AI asking you questions on the subject matter
• No release date is confirmed as of yet, but the initial response seems positive

A mysterious new ChatGPT mode has appeared on some accounts this week, as many ask the question: What is "Study together"?

The new "Study together" mode is available in the "Tools" dropdown menu on some accounts, although it's unclear exactly what the new mode does.

One user on Reddit who has access to "Study together" said, "Seems kind of cool. Ask it to teach you something, and it asks you a few questions (like Deep Research does) before taking you through a topic. But it makes you give the answers, and tests you!"

It's not clear how OpenAI has selected users for this trial, as in the same Reddit thread discussing the new mode, there's a variety of Plus account users and free users who are able to use "Study together".

Considering how useful ChatGPT is as a study tool, this new feature could make learning new topics a breeze, rather than requiring a custom prompt like the one I tried last week, which can help you learn everything about a subject.

ChatGPT has the Study Together in some accounts. What is it for? pic.twitter.com/wOcPlsxtBYJuly 7, 2025

Studying, powered by AI

There's no information on when "Study together" will be made available to the wider public, but considering the positive response from testers so far, we could get access to the mysterious new ChatGPT mode sooner rather than later.

Last month, Sam Altman hinted at GPT-5 arriving during the Western Hemisphere's Summer months, and "Study together" could be part of that launch.

With a new school year fast approaching, OpenAI will want to launch "Study together" for all students just in time for the next academic semester. That said, AI is an excellent learning tool in general, so don't be put off by this upcoming feature purely because it sounds targeted at students.

"Study together" could transform the way many of us use AI, especially if ChatGPT's way of quizzing you on the subject helps to cement info in your brain. I, for one, love learning about new things on a regular basis, so I can't wait to give this new tool a try.

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• Wimbledon’s AI-powered line calls have replaced human judges
• Players like Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have voiced frustration over questionable calls
• Despite its precision, Wimbledon’s AI system has experienced malfunctions that raised backlash among fans as well

Wimbledon made headlines this year by eliminating human line judges entirely, replacing them with an AI-powered system designed to make automated calls with pinpoint accuracy. But while the technology may be getting most of the calls right, it’s also causing frustration among players and fans alike. Complaints have poured in about missed or delayed calls, inaudible announcements, and a lack of transparency when things go wrong.

Hawk-Eye Live, a system made up of a nest of high-speed cameras and AI processing, is now officiating all of Wimbledon’s line calls and is supposed to be incredibly precise, more than having humans line the court.

But the calls were not always as precise or even as audible as they should be. You might not notice it on TV, where commentators fill the silence, but apparently, the players struggled to hear the actual calls. Yue Yuan literally asked the umpire during her match if someone could turn up the AI’s volume.

Just ask Jack Draper, who, after a tough loss to Marin Cilic, said he distrusted the accuracy of the AI in multiple instances. Emma Raducanu brought up a similar issue after losing a close match to Aryna Sabalenka. She made it clear that she thought one of the line calls was outright wrong, going out when the AI said it wasn't

Not to mention, when Sonay Kartal was on the verge of victory against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the AI system just shut down. The All England Club later apologized, saying, “It is now clear that the live ELC system, which was working optimally, was deactivated in error on part of the server’s side of the court for one game by those operating the system."

AI volley

Not every tournament uses AI. The French Open still retains human judges. It's an issue of power, as well as accuracy. If an umpire makes a bad call, a player can challenge it. But Wimbledon’s new system is the judge. You can’t argue with a robot voice or claim it was looking away at the wrong moment. The All England Club pitches the system as fairer than human line judges. Whether that's true or not, the displaced line judges are understandably upset. Over 300 of them were cut this year, and some showed up outside the grounds holding protest signs.

The AI line judges didn't come out of nowhere. Wimbledon has been inching toward AI judgment for years, and other tournaments have already ditched line judges. But maybe it’s not just about the machines. Wimbledon is a weird tournament, full of ritual. When you take away the line judges and their practiced arm movements, it takes away a major element of the tournament. And without the human flourishes that make the tournament fun, Wimbledon is just mindless swatting of a ball between two rackets.

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• Windows 11 has finally overtaken Windows 10 for market share
• 52% of those using Microsoft's desktop operating systems are now on Windows 11
• That's a hefty swing of almost 10% away from Windows 10

At long last, Windows 11 is present on more PCs globally than Windows 10, at least according to one set of figures from an analytics firm.

StatCounter provided fresh statistics for July which show that Windows 11 has accelerated to account for 52% of all Windows versions worldwide, leaving Windows 10 in its wake on 44.59%.

That's quite a shift from the previous month where Windows 10 remained just in the lead on 48.76% with Windows 11 on 47.98%. So, Windows 11 was not far off a full percentage point behind in June, but is now in the lead by 7.4%, a swing of near 10%.

Could this be the start of a mass exodus of Windows 10 stalwarts fleeing for the shores of Windows 11? Well, that can't be ruled out, and it's clear that time is running short when it comes to the looming deadline for the end of support for Windows 10, which is October 2025 - which is only three months away now.

However, I'm not convinced that there will be a stampede of migrators, because while I've argued in the past that you should be making the upgrade to Windows 11 early - assuming you can (due to your PC's spec) - there's no longer quite the same sense of urgency in this matter.

Why not? Let's go over that next.

Analysis: Support and scrapheaps

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Something changed with Windows 10's extended support program for consumers recently, and it's worth recapping in case you missed it. Microsoft decided to offer an alternative to the $30 fee that was previously required to get an extra year of security updates for Windows 10 (through to October 2026).

So, instead of stumping up that cash, you can now elect to have the Windows Backup app sync all your PC's settings to the cloud. If you allow that to happen - via signing in with a Microsoft Account - then you can get the extra year of all-important security updates at no cost. This gives you a lot more breathing space to work out what you might want to do next, which is great for those who can't upgrade to Windows 11 due to its loftier system requirements (or those who simply refuse).

Of course, 'free' is not usually completely free, and the cost here, as it were, is allowing your settings to be synced. Due to this, some online commenters have accused Microsoft of almost a kind of 'blackmail' in terms of getting access to your data. However, I should note that the wording of Microsoft's offer is important here, and you're not syncing all your personal data to OneDrive or anything - all you have to sync are your Windows settings.

And having those settings synced should help in the future, too, if you want to make the transition to Windows 11 (or the following version of Windows) at a later date on a new PC. Microsoft's hope, it seems, is this will make that transition easier, and so folks are therefore more likely to tread that path.

I don't think there's any underlying motive from Microsoft here to get its claws into your personal data as some are suggesting, so in my book, this all seems fair enough. If you're not convinced, however, that's equally fair - you don't have to take Microsoft up on this option. You can pay instead (or redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, if you have them, which is another alternative), or just go ahead and switch from Windows 10 come its End of Life in October 2025.

Whatever you do, don't stay on Windows 10 without security updates - never mind worrying about Microsoft's nose potentially being in your data, a hacker could really make your life a misery by compromising your PC due to an unpatched vulnerability because your system doesn't have security updates.

Taking a broader perspective, I've half-convinced myself that Microsoft may even offer more than a year of additional support to consumers (in the same way it treats businesses).

Mainly because this new Windows Backup-related offer has come in at the last minute, largely I suspect to assuage some of the fears of the 'towering scrapheap of Windows 10 PCs' activists who are (rightly) concerned about the environmental impact of Microsoft's Windows 11 system requirements. (Those that prevent a lot of would-be upgraders from moving to the newer OS, due to having an older CPU, or the lack of a specific security feature, TPM 2.0).

And so I don't think it's unimaginable that Microsoft might offer a second year of extended support for consumers, and I very firmly believe the company should do so. We shall see, but for now, with an extra year of support on the table for free (effectively), there's no need to rush to abandon Windows 10 for many folks. Not unless your trust in Microsoft is particularly low, or you don't have a Microsoft account and don't want to sign up for one (to sync your settings).

There are, of course, other options aside from Windows - the main one being a switch to Linux. Of course, in that case, you need to be prepared to leave Microsoft's ecosystem and put up with some of the limitations that one of the best Linux distros will come with (mainly around compatible software, particularly PC games).

Meanwhile, we can expect further spikes in adoption for Windows 11 in the near future, although perhaps not to the same extent that some people might expect, given those extra choices Microsoft has just introduced.

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• An Xbox executive suggested that laid-off employees use AI for emotional support and career guidance
• The suggestion sparked backlash and led the executive to delete their LinkedIn post
• Microsoft has laid off 9,000 employees in recent months while investing heavily in AI.

Microsoft has been hyping up its AI ambitions for the last several years, but one executive's pitch about the power of AI to former employees who were recently let go has landed with an awkward thud.

Amid the largest round of layoffs in over two years, about 9,000 people, Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Game Studios Publishing, suggested that AI chatbots could help those affected process their grief, craft resumes, and rebuild their confidence.

The gesture was meant for support, but it left many game developers feeling outraged.

Turnbull took his possibly well-meaning but definitely poorly phrased and timed message to LinkedIn. He shared ideas for prompts to give an AI chatbot that he claimed might help laid-off colleagues navigate career uncertainty and emotional turbulence.

The backlash was swift and angry, leading him to delete the post, but you can still read it thanks to Brandon Sheffield's Bluesky post below.

Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Game Studios Publishing - after the Microsoft layoffs - suggesting on Linkedin that may maybe people who have been let go should turn to AI for help. He seriously thought posting this would be a good idea.

— @brandon.insertcredit.com (@brandon.insertcredit.com.bsky.social) 2025-07-07T07:54:06.534Z

Turnbull urged colleagues to lean on AI to reduce the “emotional and cognitive load” of job loss in his post, along with the prompt ideas for 30-day recovery plans and LinkedIn messages. Probably the most eyebrow-raising suggestion was suggesting a prompt to help reframe impostor syndrome after being laid off.

“No AI tool is a replacement for your voice or lived experience," Turnbull wrote. "But in times when mental energy is scarce, these tools can help you get unstuck faster, calmer, and with more clarity.”

Even the most charitable interpretation of his post can't overlook just how condescending and poorly timed the advice is. And angry game developers flooded the comments, likely leading to the deletion of the post.

To put it mildly, they don't agree that being laid off is an emotional puzzle best solved with an algorithm. Instead, perhaps a human might understand the career and life upheaval it represents, and how that requires human compassion, support networks, and tangible help, like, say, an introduction to someone who can help you get a new job.

AI therapy

This incident is even worse in the context of Microsoft spending billions building AI infrastructure while dramatically shrinking its gaming teams. Urging laid-off developers to lean on AI right after losing their jobs is more than hypocritical; it's telling people to use the very technology that may have caused their job loss.

To be scrupulously and overly fair to Turnbull, using AI could help with some mental health concerns and might be useful in improving a resume or preparing for a job interview. Making AI part of outplacement services isn't a horrible idea. It could boost the internal coaching and career-transition arm Microsoft offers already, adding to the recruiters, résumé workshops, and counselling it offers. But it can't and shouldn't replace those human services. And having one of the people who let you go tell you to use AI to find a new job is the opposite of supportive. It's just an insult on top of injury.

Microsoft’s dual approach of laying people off and doubling down on AI infrastructure is a test of its company culture as much as its technical ability. Will we see a new standard where layoffs come with AI prompt packages instead of counseling and severance? If the message is, “Feel free to use chatbots to help you after we fire you,” expect plenty more outrageous, tone-deaf nonsense from executives.

Perhaps they should ask those chatbots how to interact with human beings without angering them, since it's a lesson they haven't learned well.

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• First-look images of Android's upcoming Live Updates function revealed
• Similar feel to iOS Live Activities
• Live Updates is currently only functional in the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta, but should widely rolled out next quarter

Google unveiled its upcoming Live Updates feature at this year’s Google I/O event back in May, and though the Android 16 roll out has begun, it won’t be widely available for another few months.

In the meantime, Google has released new insights to its version of iOS’ Live Activities, including what kind of apps the feature will support.

Android 16’s Live Updates is similar to Live Activities in iOS, which displays timely information and ‘progress-style’ notifications on your lock screen that are updated frequently, meaning you won’t have to open apps to view their status. At the moment, Live Updates is only functional in the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta, but it’s expected to land with the wider Android 16 roll out later in the year.

Since it was first previewed at Google I/O, the functionality and appearance of the feature itself has remained ambiguous, but a recent post on the Android Developers page gives further details on what we can expect from Live Updates – including a first look at the feature in action.

(Image credit: 9to5Google)

In Android’s post, Live Updates will be used ‘for activities that are ongoing, user-initiated and time sensitive’. Similarly to Live Activities in iOS, Android 16’s Live Updates will support phone calls, food and rideshare tracking, and ‘active navigation’ for apps that show live trip progress such as Google Maps.

Google even goes into detail about how developers should show Live Updates when it comes to time sensitive notifications, using the following explanation:

‘A Live Update is often appropriate for activities that transition between Live Updates and normal notifications. For example, showing a boarding pass notification is appropriate many hours before a user's flight, but the notification should become a Live Update only when the user has a pressing need, such as when they have arrived at the airport or venue or once boarding has begun. In contrast, a Live Update isn't appropriate for tracking a package as the user doesn't need to constantly monitor this’.

Android has its boundaries

While Google has given us the long-awaited visual insight to Live Updates, the company has also been clear with app developers that the feature should not be abused.

In its post, Google has been quite explicit with this, stating ‘Don't use Live Updates to offer accelerated access to app functionality’. Ads, promotions, chat messages, alerts, upcoming calendar events, and quick access to app features have been deemed as ‘inappropriate uses’.

Now the only key detail that’s missing is an official roll out date for Live Updates. As mentioned above, Live Updates is only available with the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta but Android Authority’s findings hint that apps will start leaning into this function next quarter when the update is expected to go live.

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• A new search ability is rolling out for the Copilot app
• It gives Windows 11 and 10 users an AI-powered search, offering natural language queries
• Copilot can also peek inside files and find relevant info you need, saving you the legwork

Windows 11 is getting a new ability for Copilot to help you find files on your PC, and quickly glean info from those files, should you want to.

Windows Latest reports that the extended search powers facilitated by AI, which were previously in testing (a few months ago) with Windows 11, are now rolling out to all users (including those on Windows 10 too).

The folk at Windows Latest have already got the new functionality for the Copilot app and tested it out, being generally impressed by the feature.

It allows the user to fire up a local search of the PC – although there are limitations on the locations covered (I'll come back to that) – within the Copilot app simply by typing a natural language query. For example: "Find my resume for that job application I made last year."

Clearly, it's nice to have the ability to search just by asking a question like this, rather than trying to use Windows search itself and (attempting to) figure out the best query – after all, who can remember exact file names, especially with older files?

Analysis: A commendably useful feature... with some caveats

(Image credit: Windows Latest / Microsoft)

Windows Latest observes that this Copilot search is fast, as it's a local search – which also includes any synced files in OneDrive – and leverages Windows search itself. In other words, there's no waiting for the Copilot app to send data to the cloud, or wait for a reply from Microsoft's servers – everything is happening on the device, and so it's pretty nippy.

The search provided is also better than a basic Windows 11 search - even though this is still how the query is ultimately being resolved - as you can use natural language as noted. Indeed, this is a kind of makeshift alternative to the nifty AI-supercharged search in Windows 11 which is offered with Copilot+ PCs - and I'm glad to see it, because most of us don't have one of those devices (I certainly don't).

On top of this, the Copilot app search also lets you surface info from files you're hunting out without even opening them. So, if you're searching for a document file full of recipes, and you want a particular recipe for a curry, say, you can ask for exactly that - and the AI will extract it from the document there and then.

This Copilot-powered search also lets you sidestep some of the bugs with the standard Windows 11 search functionality (even though it still leverages the latter to get results).

Okay, so it all sounds good overall - but not everything is sweet smelling roses. There's a notable thorn in that the scope of the search is limited to commonly used files (meaning obscure file formats may not show up). Furthermore, by default the locations covered by this AI search are limited to your essential personal folders (such as Documents and Downloads). You can, however, expand that reach and grant Copilot access to further folders if you wish.

The thornier issue still for many, though, will be privacy. It's important to note that this search capability is turned off by default, which is good, and frankly necessary, given that there are plenty of people out there who are very much against Copilot 'nosing around in their files'.

It's also worth noting that there's not just a toggle to turn on the local file search ability for Copilot, but also a separate slider to allow the AI to read your files. The latter is obviously needed for Copilot to surface material from within a file (like the aforementioned curry recipe), so if you want to perform that trick, you'll obviously need to let Copilot 'nose around' in your stuff.

If you don't want the AI to have that kind of access, you can still use the feature, but leave this second slider alone and it won't look in your files (but you'll only get the basic search in the Copilot app).

There will still be plenty of doubters around this kind of feature, mind, but as long as it's off by default, it isn't going to be a problem - you can take it or leave it. If this functionality sounds useful to you, then you can go ahead and enable it - with the rollout now apparently underway, it should hopefully be turning up on all Windows 11 and 10 PCs before too long.

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Update, Thursday July 3: In a further twist to the story of The Velvet Sundown, we've been contacted by a representatives of the band who claims that "Over the past days, a number of impersonator accounts have surfaced across social media platforms, publishing fabricated statements and AI-generated imagery falsely attributed to us. Unfortunately, some of this material was cited in your recent article."

Since the same information is contained in the Spotify bio for the band, we are taking this new information on good faith and have updated the social media link in this article to reflect this. The new information in no way contradicts the suspicion put forth in the article that the band's music is AI-generated.

Update, Monday June 30 : We’ve been contacted by Deezer, the global streaming music service, to say that it has flagged The Velvet Sundown’s albums as AI-generated content together with the message: “Some tracks on this album may have been created using artificial intelligence”.

This stands in contrast to Spotify and Apple Music, which have not flagged the content as AI-generated. Deezer uses an AI detection filter on all it albums, “with the ability to detect 100% AI generated music from the most prolific generative models – such as Suno and Udio, with the possibility to add detection capabilities for practically any other similar tool as long as there’s access to relevant data examples.”

Meanwhile The Velvet Sundown’s X.com account has responded to this article with a denial that the band uses AI, saying: “Absolutely crazy that so-called “journalists” keep pushing the lazy, baseless theory that The Velvet Sundown is “AI-generated” with zero evidence.”

I have reached out for an interview with the band, and we’ll update you when we have more info.

Original story follows: Dust on the Wind, Drift Beyond the Flame, and End the Pain, are all songs by the hot new band The Velvet Sundown, who are blowing up on Spotify with over 470,000 monthly listeners. There’s only one problem. It doesn’t look like the band actually exists, and the music appears to have been created by AI.

While the band appears as a Verified Artist on Spotify, the bio says an incredible amount of nondescript things about the band, like “There’s something quite spellbinding about The Velvet Sundown. You don’t just listen to them, you drift into them”.

The bio lists the band members as singer and mellotron player Gabe Farrow, guitarist Lennie West, Milo Raines, who "crafts the band's textured synth sounds," and "free-spirited" percussionist Orion “Rio” Del Mar. No amount of digging that I (or the music press) have been able to do has persuaded me that any of these people are real.

The music itself sounds to me like a kind of mash-up of various mellow, country-influenced, rock bands like The Eagles, JJ Cale, and The Allman Brothers. I can also detect an element of another Texas band, Khruangbin, in their sound.

Dust and Silence

The Velvet Sundown already has one album out, Dust and Silence, which you can listen to right now, and another, Paper Sun Rebellion, is set for release in 13 days on July 14, but the signs of AI are all over everything to do with them.

For instance, both album covers look like two versions of the same AI-generated design. Both are surrealism scenes of a floating eye and a staircase in a desert landscape with mountains in the background. It looks like what happens when AI generates two or more versions of an image for you to choose between.

Then take a look at pictures of the band - they look like they’ve been created by ChatGPT to me. If you look at the band’s Instagram account, you’ll see what obviously looks like AI-generated photo of the band.

With powerful AI music creation tools like Suno available online, it’s quite possible that the particular blend of easy-listening, middle-of-the-road, rock that The Velvet Sundown specializes in is AI-created too. Another giveaway for me is that the singer’s voice sounds slightly different on each track the band plays, and the music has a soulless, generic quality to it, even if it makes for pleasant and inoffensive background listening. There’s nothing cohesive between the tracks that makes me think they’re played by the same people.

(Image credit: The Velvet Sundown)Hard times

As we reported in February, since 2024, Spotify has demonetized songs that don't get 1,000 streams a year – by some estimates, 86% of music on the platform – making it even harder for musicians to make a living.

In a time when the big streaming services are reaping vast profits and artists who aren't in the top percentage of streamers are struggling, the fact that an AI band is grabbing the ears of listeners away from real human-generated music, while not being labelled as AI, is proving divisive.

Many people are understandably unhappy that what appears to be an entirely AI-generated band is getting plays and being supported by Spotify.

“Just looked them up, and the description on Spotify doesn't make any mention of them being AI. This honestly is making me lean towards cancelling my Spotify subscription”, said Reddit user blyzo.

“Yeah, that's what people are today; all frauds, and all supporters of the fake. Milli Vanilli came out decades too early!”, commented Reddit user Big-Rabbit9119

However, Reddit user AnyPomegranate4981 said, "ngl the songs are fire".

We reached out to Spotify for comment on how this band had achieved Verified status and if it thought The Velvet Sundown was a real band, despite all the obvious evidence, but they haven't responded. We'll update this article if we get a response.

One thing that did occur to me was that if it is a real band, then this could be a very clever marketing campaign. Generating controversy by appearing to be a fake AI band would be a great way to get yourself noticed.

If The Velvet Sunset is indeed an AI band, though, one thing is for sure – we’re unlikely to ever see them play live.

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• Crunchyroll aired anime with obviously AI-generated subtitles that included typos, clunky phrasing, and lines like “ChatGPT said.”
• Fans quickly noticed and criticized the lack of human oversight
• The incident highlights growing concerns about AI replacing creative roles without proper review, particularly in localization, where context and tone are crucial

There are mistranslations, and then there are ChatGPT subtitles that appear to have been deliberately written to upset people. That's what appeared to happen with some of the translated Japanese shown on screen during episodes of anime recently spotted and shared online.

The first example to gain attention online made it clear that ChatGPT was the culprit of awkward and outright wrong translations during an episode of Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show, Crunchyroll’s new anime series about occult weirdness and internet brain rot. It literally included the line "ChatGPT said" in both the German and English subtitles.

Fans started posting screenshots of bizarre sentence structures and dialogue that they had spotted, and now had an explanation and a source of blame for. Misspelled character names, inconsistent phrasing, and just outright made-up words and phrases were spotted everywhere.

(Image credit: Pixel/Bluesky)

I only watched about two minutes, and was so frustrated at the subs having errors that even a normal machine translation wouldn't have given.

— @hilene.bsky.social (@hilene.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-07-03T02:47:11.136Z

In case that wasn't enough, Crunchyroll’s president, Rahul Purini, had told Forbes in an interview only a few months ago that the company had no plans to use AI in the “creative process.” They weren’t going to mess with voice acting or story generation, he said. AI would be restricted to helping people find shows to watch and to recommending new shows based on what viewers had previously enjoyed.

Apparently, ChatGPT translations don't count under that rubric, but localization isn't a mechanical process, as any human translator could explain.

Localization art

Hey now, show some respect for the most storied of all anime subbers: Translator's name

— @viridianjcm.bsky.social (@viridianjcm.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-07-03T02:47:11.132Z

Localizing is a big deal among anime fans. Debates over whether certain subtitles are too literal, too loose, or too limited in their references to be understood outside Japan have raged for decades. But no one on any side of those debates is likely to claim these massive errors by ChatGPT are okay.

Crunchyroll hasn’t officially clarified how this happened, but reports suggest the subtitles came from the company's Japanese production partner. The generated subtitles may have been given to Crunchyroll to air without Crunchyroll being responsible for making them.

As several people pointed out, when you pay to stream anime from a major platform like Crunchyroll, you're expecting a certain baseline of quality. Even if you disagree with a localizer's choices, you can at least understand where they are coming from. The fact that apparently no one read the ChatGPT subtitles before they were uploaded to a global audience is harder to justify.

Translation is an art. Localization isn’t just about replacing Japanese with English. It’s about tone, cadence, subtext, and making a character sound like themselves across a language barrier. AI can guess what words go where, but it doesn’t know the characters or the show. It's like a little translation dictionary, which is fine as far as it goes, but it can't make a conversation make sense without a human piecing together the words. A few fans are outraged enough to call for unsubscribing and going back to sharing fansubs, the homebrewed subtitles unofficially written and circulated back in the days of VHS. In other words, the very thing Crunchyroll once helped make obsolete by offering higher-quality, licensed versions of shows.

At a time when more people are watching anime than ever before, Crunchyroll is apparently willing to gamble that most of us won’t notice or care whether the words characters say make any sense. If Crunchyroll wants to keep its credibility, it has to treat localization not as a tech problem to optimize, but as a storytelling component that requires human nuance and judgment. Otherwise, it might just be "gameorver" for Crunchyroll's reputation.

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• Windows 10 PCs are getting an update stealthily installed
• The under-the-radar arrival of KB5001716 may confuse some folks
• This patch is deployed to versions of Windows which are about to run out of support, and it'll nudge you to make a move to keep your PC secure

Windows 10 PCs are getting an update stealthily piped to them, and some folks may be confused as to what it is.

The good news is that it's nothing to worry about as such – although the update is a bit of an oddity, and it does herald the end of Windows 10 (I'll come back to why momentarily).

Neowin noticed the arrival of the patch labelled KB5001716, and observed that this is an upgrade that Microsoft deploys ahead of 'force-installing' a new feature update.

That's somewhat dramatic phrasing for KB5001716 being pushed to Windows versions which are about to run out of support – hence the users will indeed need to upgrade soon, or they'll be left without security updates (and potentially open to vulnerabilities that could be exploited as a result).

So technically, the comment about a forced installation is true, but only because the upgrade is a necessary move to ensure the safety of the host PC.

Here's what Microsoft tells us about this patch: "After this update is installed, Windows may periodically display a notification informing you of problems that may prevent Windows Update from keeping your device up-to-date and protected against current threats. For example, you may see a notification informing you that your device is currently running a version of Windows that has reached the end of its support lifecycle."

In this case, the update is being quietly installed on PCs running the latest version of Windows 10, which is 22H2, as well as 21H2 – the latter is already out of support, mind you. (As is Windows 11 21H2, which Microsoft also lists as receiving this patch currently, rather oddly).

Analysis: the beginning of the end

(Image credit: Microsoft)

What this really represents is Microsoft preparing the ground for the end of Windows 10, which happens in October of this year. With this patch now being installed on all Windows 10 PCs, as noted, those machines will receive periodic notifications warning that the operating system is about to run out of support (and security updates).

Microsoft is keeping something of a tight rein on those nudges (which will doubtless mention upgrading to Windows 11), though. The company notes that they "will respect full screen, game, quiet time and focus assist modes" meaning that they won't be overly intrusive. And hopefully they won't be too regular, either.

So, if you've been worried about the appearance of this update, there's no need to fret. It's not a big deal, although that said, it is in some respects, in terms of the fuse effectively being lit for the final countdown with Windows 10.

There are only three months left to go before the End of Life of the older OS now, and so there is some urgency to act. If you can't upgrade to Windows 11 due to falling short of the system requirements, you need to be thinking about alternatives (or getting an extra year of support).

I think it would really help if Microsoft was clearer about what this update is. In fact, KB5001716 is rolled out to PCs every time a support deadline for a version of Windows is imminent. Indeed, in the past, we have seen reports of this patch failing to install because it's already present on the system.

Strictly speaking, that shouldn't happen – due to the patch only being pushed out to versions of Windows that are at death's door, as noted – but if it does somehow, the solution is simple. Uninstall the existing copy of KB5001716 in Windows Update, and the new one should then patch successfully. Otherwise, it'll keep repeatedly failing, which will doubtless get tiresome quite swiftly.

Overall, this is a somewhat odd approach from Microsoft for managing dying Windows versions. It's not surprising that KB5001716 can cause some confusion, in terms of the stealthy, and repeated (over the years), installation of this 'update for Windows Update' as the company bills it.

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• New formatting abilities have arrived in Notepad for Windows 11
• Microsoft previously tested these features, but they're now rolling out to all Windows 11 users
• Some welcome the move as a useful addition to Notepad's editing powers, while others feel Microsoft is just bloating the text editor

Windows 11's Notepad app has been fleshed out with new formatting powers, and the app is morphing, slowly but surely, to become more like WordPad (the more extensive text editor that Microsoft canned quite some time ago).

Windows Latest reports that it downloaded an update for Notepad from the Microsoft Store which provided the new functionality to a PC running the finished version of Windows 11 (as opposed to test builds, where these features were previously being trialled).

The fresh formatting powers include the ability to add different kinds of headings or subheadings, use italics or bold text, and create numbered or bullet-point lists. It's also now possible to add hyperlinks to selected text.

Others on Reddit have been sharing their opinions on the introduction of these new lightweight formatting abilities over the past few days, so it seems the rollout is definitely underway.

So how's the new Notepad being received so far? To say it's had a mixed reception, going by the reactions on Reddit, is an understatement.

Analysis: bolstered or bloated?

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The polarization in the feedback to these changes is quite something. There are two camps, as you might guess: those who welcome the move, and those who, well, very much don't.

The welcomers are generally folks who miss WordPad, which Microsoft sent to the great app graveyard in the sky early last year. WordPad was essentially a midway point between Microsoft Word, the firm's full-on word processor, and Notepad, which was originally conceived as a super-lightweight text editor for duties in a pinch.

With that compromise app now gone, what Microsoft has been doing for a while now is adding more features to Notepad in order to make up for the loss of WordPad. This latest move to usher in basic formatting tricks bolsters Notepad considerably in terms of its editing clout, and a fair few people are happy about that as a result.

The folks who feel otherwise are concerned that all Microsoft is doing is bloating Notepad. Bear in mind that this introduction of formatting powers is the latest in a long line of additions, and the fear is that eventually Notepad is going to become more bloated, and perhaps less responsive or even slower to start – which defeats the whole point of the app as a quick and easy editor.

However, there's a crucial point to remember here, namely that the new formatting features can all be switched off. If you don't want them, Microsoft has made it so that support for formatting can be dispensed with in a single click, which should go some way to placating some of the haters – even if they still won't approve of the general direction Microsoft is taking with Notepad, which doesn't appear to be a course the software giant is planning on altering.

If you've got the new version of Notepad and have noticed the formatting functionality, and you're wondering how to switch it off, that's easy. At the bottom of the app window you'll see it says 'Formatted' to indicate that formatting is active – just click on that, and all formatting will be disabled.

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• Google Gemini can more easily access your Phone and Messages apps
• Previously, you had to allow Gemini Apps Activity, reducing your privacy
• That's no longer the case, and comes as Gemini RCS support leaks too

Google looks set to give Google Gemini some serious upgrades by allowing it greater access to your apps without forcing you to tweak your privacy settings, and giving it new abilities within those apps.

You might have seen an email that Google sent to Android phone users stating that Gemini will be able to interact with the Phone, Messages, WhatsApp, and Utilities apps, even if you have Gemini Apps Activity switched off.

The immediate reaction was one of concern, but this is actually a huge privacy win.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

With Gemini Apps Activity switched on, Google can see an activity log of how you use Gemini – personal data it can then use to develop its products further. If you want to keep this data more private, you had to lose out on Gemini being able to access extensions, which allow it to perform actions using other apps, such as texting someone if you ask it to.

This change means you can keep your activity log private while still not losing out on these basic smart assistant features, which Google’s Assistant has had for years.

Though that’s not to say Google won’t store any of your Gemini activity even if this setting is off. Google admits it will store some activity data for at most 72 hours. It’s stored for 24 hours within Gemini so that the AI can respond to your conversations contextually. The longer limit is for security and safety reasons, which you can find out more about on Google’s support page.

RCS support incoming?

Perhaps in preparation for Gemini having easy access to Messages – and so presumably more people using the app – Gemini is getting an RCS upgrade too, apparently.

(Image credit: Apple)

That’s based on Android Authority’s analysis of the latest Google app files, which hints at RCS coming to Gemini because the AI can fetch the device’s RCS capabilities. This would only be necessary if the AI were RCS compatible.

This is significant because currently, Gemini’s inability to use RCS means it’s unable to send or play audio, images, or video through the Google Messages app. With access to this messaging standard, that could very quickly change.

As with similar leaks, there’s no guarantee that Gemini will get RCS support any time soon (or at all), but it certainly makes plenty of sense as an upgrade, so it’s one we’ll be keeping our eye out for.

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• Microsoft recently threw a lifeline to consumers, offering alternatives to paying $30 for extended support for Windows 10
• PIRG thinks this doesn't go far enough in terms of avoiding an impending e-waste calamity
• The organization suggests Microsoft considers providing longer-term support for Windows 10, or relaxes the spec requirements for Windows 11

Microsoft's recent lifeline to help those stuck on Windows 10 – due to not meeting the stricter hardware requirements for a Windows 11 upgrade – simply isn't enough, according to a consumer rights group.

The Register reports that it has spoken to Lucas Rockett Gutterman, who leads the Designed to Last campaign for the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) in the US.

As you may be aware, PIRG has a mission to combat obsolescence and e-waste. The organization has previously levelled accusations at Microsoft of its Windows 11 requirements effectively shoving hundreds of millions of otherwise perfectly serviceable PCs into landfill, come the end of Windows 10 in October 2025. (The organization isn't alone in that, either.)

You may have seen that last week, Microsoft made a concession on this front. We've long known that one option for consumers will be to pay $30 for an additional year of security updates (something that's never been offered before), but now Microsoft just introduced some other choices too.

Instead of forking out cash, you can elect to use the Windows Backup app to sync all your settings to the cloud (OneDrive). Alternatively, you can redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.

However, Gutterman remains distinctly unimpressed with the new choices, telling The Register that: "Microsoft's new options don't go far enough and likely won't make a dent in the up to 400 million Windows 10 PCs that can't upgrade to Windows 11."

Gutterman adds that: "What [Microsoft hasn't] done is commit to automatically providing longer support for Windows 10 or loosening the hardware requirements for Windows 11."

"It's obvious that users are frustrated," Gutterman concludes. "They feel yanked around and don't think this [latest] announcement provides a viable solution."

Analysis: thinking beyond a one-year extension

(Image credit: Microsoft)

To be fair to Microsoft, I think that giving Windows 10 users a couple of new options to avoid paying $30 to keep security updates going for an extra year (through to October 2026) is actually a very positive move – especially because simply using the Backup app isn't a particularly hefty imposition.

I can see where Gutterman is coming from with the points he makes, but the suggestion that Microsoft might consider loosening the system requirements for Windows 11 is, I feel, rather a waste of breath. That isn't going to happen at this point, and I think the software giant has been pretty clear on that.

For me, the key point raised is providing Windows 10 support beyond an extra year for consumers, and this is something I've been harping on for some time. While businesses can get a three-year program of extended security updates (if they want that much), so far Microsoft is only offering consumers a single year.

Perhaps the software giant feels that this is enough, but it really isn't – not when it comes to keeping all those olds PCs off the scrapheap. Why isn't Microsoft looking at extending support for multiple years for consumers too, from an eco-friendly angle?

Just a second additional year of support would be some welcome extra breathing room, even if Microsoft charged for it rather than offering any kind of alternative angle like using the Backup app. Of course, a non-paying option would be better. I'd even suggest making Windows 10 ad-supported to keep those security updates coming for two or three years.

What do you mean that's already happened and ads are all over the place? Ahem – in all seriousness, I think allowing Microsoft to push more ad notifications (in a still limited fashion) within Windows 10 would be a compromise many would take, rather than paying extra to keep their non-Windows 11 compatible PC alive through to 2027 or 2028. At least suffering the adverts would have a plus side to it in this scenario, and if you can't stand the idea of yet more ads, you can stump up the $30.

Whatever the case, I fully agree with PIRG that a one-year extension for consumers isn't good enough in terms of Microsoft's responsibilities towards preventing excessive e-waste – and hopefully the company will see the sense in further extended updates for consumers, too, not just businesses.

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• Zuckerberg has created a new group called Meta Superintelligence Labs
• The goal of the group is to create AI superintelligence
• New hires from OpenAI will form the team headed up by Alexandr Wang from Scale AI

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has heated up the race towards AI superintelligence by restructuring the company’s artificial intelligence division with the main aim being to develop artificial superintelligence, that is, intelligence that is far beyond what humans are capable of.

Superintelligence could mean exponential leaps in medicine, science, and technology that dramatically change the course of humanity, but it doesn't come without risks.

In an memo to employees, Zuckerberg said he is creating a new group called Meta Superintelligence Labs, lead by Alexandr Wang, former CEO of data-labeling startup Scale AI, which Meta has recently acquired for $14.3 billion.

A new era for humanity

As reported by Bloomberg, the memo sent by Zuckerberg reads: “As the pace of AI progress accelerates, developing superintelligence is coming into sight. I believe this will be the beginning of a new era for humanity, and I am fully committed to doing what it takes for Meta to lead the way.”

The memo goes on to list 11 recent hires to the new division, which include ex-employees of OpenAI who worked on the last 12 months of OpenAI products, along with employees from Anthropic and Google.

The list includes Trapit Bansal, who pioneered RL on chain of thought and co-creator of o-series models at OpenAI, Shuchao Bi, co-creator of GPT-4o voice mode and o4-mini, and Huiwen Chang, co-creator of GPT-4o's image generation, who previously invented MaskIT and Muse text-to-image architectures at Google Research.

(Image credit: OpenAI & Meta)OpenAI vs Meta

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, has repeatedly posted about achieving superintelligence being the goal for his company on his blog.

As recently as June, he wrote, “We are past the event horizon; the takeoff has started. Humanity is close to building digital superintelligence, and at least so far it’s much less weird than it seems like it should be.”

However, it appears that Zuckerberg wants Meta to be the company that first claims to have achieved superintelligence, and he is certainly throwing an awful lot of money at this project, which has led some to question whether this is really the right approach and if achieving superintelligence is even possible.

Mark Zuckerberg paid $14.3 billion for Scale AI just to hire Alexandr Wang, and has even been offering OpenAI employees $100 million to join Meta, according to a report in the New York Times.

Zuckerberg’s new push towards superintelligence comes after Meta’s own Chief AI Scientist, Yann Le Cun, talking about superintelligence said publicly last month that “It’s not going to happen within the next two years, there is no way in hell”, and cast doubt upon the whole idea of scaling up existing LLM models, like Meta AI or ChatGPT, to achieve superintelligence, which is the approach that companies like OpenAI seem to be following.

Meta AI is currently available inside all the Meta social media apps, like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, and can also be used within the new Meta AI app.

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• Microsoft has been boasting about the benefits of Windows 11 (again)
• It claims Windows 11 PCs can be 'up to 2.3x faster' than Windows 10 machines
• This comparison was made running the operating systems on different hardware, though, and it's very misleading as a result

It likely hasn't escaped your attention that Microsoft is busy trying to drive people to switch from Windows 10 to Windows 11, what with the older operating system nearing its End of Life.

In a recent blog post (noticed by Tom's Hardware), Microsoft has again been extolling the virtues of Windows 11 (and Copilot+ PCs), with Yusuf Mehdi (who heads up consumer marketing) presenting us with an array of reasons as to why the newer OS is the place to be.

The post touches on the benefits of Windows 11, including accessibility features, AI, security, and performance, and it's the latter we're focusing on here. Specifically, the following claim that Mehdi makes: "Windows 11 PCs are up to 2.3x faster than Windows 10 PCs."

That statement comes with a footnote attached – a vital caveat, in fact, which I'll come back to, but the broad suggestion here is very clear: Windows 11 is much faster than Windows 10. But is that true, or fair, to say? No, it isn't; so let's explore why, and consider the ins and outs of what Microsoft is asserting here.

What Microsoft is claiming

Microsoft argues that Windows 11 is "faster and more efficient" and that compared to Windows 10 it delivers faster updates, quicker wake-from-sleep times (for laptops), and generally better performance on the desktop. Then comes the central claim that Windows 11 computers are "up to 2.3x faster" than older Windows 10 machines.

Notice the use of "older" there, and this is where the footnote comes into play. Scan down to that and you'll see that Microsoft says it's basing this estimation on a Geekbench 6 multi-core (CPU) benchmark – and that's all we're told in this post.

However, we're presented with a URL tacked on the end of the footnote, which is actually the source of this benchmark – an array of 'Windows 11 PC performance details' nestling within Microsoft's Learn portal.

Here we learn that these comparative tests weren't run on the same PC, but different hardware. In short, the Windows 10 PCs running the Geekbench benchmark were older machines with Intel Core 6th, 8th and 10th-gen processors, whereas the Windows 11 devices used Intel Core 12th and 13th-gen CPUs. As Microsoft further notes: "Performance will vary significantly by device and with settings, usage and other factors."

(Image credit: Elnur / Shutterstock)Why this is very misleading

There's a big problem here which is plain to see – those much older PCs (with in some cases 6th-gen CPUs) are clearly going to be way slower than a modern machine with a 12th or 13th-gen Intel chip.

What Microsoft should have done is to run the Windows 10 benchmark on a PC, then installed Windows 11 on the same hardware, and compared the results. That would be a level playing field – what we see here absolutely isn't.

In short, that "up to 2.3x faster" claim is very misleading, because it's mostly showing the difference between the hardware components involved, not the software (the operating systems themselves). That's why the performance gulf seems so large and eyebrow-raising.

Also, it's a weak argument to just cite a single benchmark (Geekbench) anyway. Preferably, we should have a few performance tests averaged (or a whole suite of them ideally). Otherwise, the suspicion is that the benchmark in question has been cherry-picked to make the marketing look as compelling as possible.

That's a relatively minor issue, of course, compared to the fundamental problem here of comparing vastly different PCs running Windows 10 versus the computers with Windows 11 installed.

Okay, so Microsoft could argue that this is only meant as an illustrative performance metric, and it does specify that Windows 11 PCs can be "up to" more than twice as fast as Windows 10 machines – so technically that's true. In most cases, they won't be anywhere near that, though; and as already noted, not having an apples-to-apples performance comparison here just makes the assertion so misleading.

What I'm also unhappy with is the way that footnote is written. It's crafted so that even if the reader glances at it – and many probably won't – they'll just think "Oh it's Geekbench" and probably leave it at that, maybe not investigating the provided URL (featuring the actual test details). Notably, that URL isn't hyperlinked, so it's easy to miss, and you have to actually highlight and copy it to head over to the Learn portal to see the story behind the OS comparison. It all feels a bit smoke-and-mirrors to say the least.

(Image credit: Future)The verdict

Marketing is marketing, of course, and as noted the statement is technically true – a Windows 11 PC can no doubt be more than twice as fast as a Windows 10 PC. Especially if that Windows 10 computer has been pulled out of your attic, had the dust blown off it, and then runs a benchmark that's subsequently compared to a relatively new Windows 11 PC.

Come on Microsoft – you can do better than this. Frankly, the crafty way in which this particular part of Mehdi's blog post has been concocted smacks of desperation in the effort to persuade folks to upgrade to Windows 11.

What makes this worse is that, anecdotally for me, Windows 11 does indeed feel a bit snappier than Windows 10 in general everyday performance (although I realize that's a very subjective thing, and not everyone's experience going by some of the complaints I see online).

In short, I think Microsoft has a point to boast about here in terms of Windows 11 offering somewhat peppier performance, and being more responsive in some respects – but it's spoiled any of that positivity with an over-the-top marketing effort here.

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• You can get access to Google's Veo 3 for free with this simple trick
• Sign up for a Google Cloud free trial with $300/£222 of credit and use Veo 3 directly from Vertex AI
• Generate 8-second clips with audio without spending a penny

Google's Veo 3 is everywhere, making it nearly impossible to tell what videos are real on social media anymore.

The clips may be limited to 8 seconds, but with the ability to generate audio too, and stitch multiple clips together, Veo 3 is well and truly the best AI video generator.

To use Veo 3, you normally need access to a paid Google AI subscription, but this neat workaround using a Google Cloud trial gives you $300 /£222 worth of Cloud Billing credits and a way to use Veo 3 through Vertex AI.

Sound complicated? Don't worry, it's super easy to set up, and you'll be generating AI video in no time without opening your wallet.

How to get access to Veo 3 for free

(Image credit: Future)

Head to the Google Cloud website and sign up for a free $300 credit trial to unlock higher limits in Vertex AI. You'll need to enter a billing address, and the credits will last for 90 days, but don't worry, you won't be charged unless you actively choose to subscribe.

Once you've signed up for your free Google Cloud trial, head to Vertex AI and select Media Studio. You'll now be able to generate Veo 3 videos without spending any money at all.

While Veo 3 is seriously impressive, it's worth noting that AI video generation uses a lot of energy, so if you're aiming to be sustainable with your AI usage, you may want to limit this tool to necessity, rather than generate AI slop.

That said, you're free to use Veo 3 how you please, it's really that simple - no purchase necessary.

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• Xbox's limited-edition Quest 3S has sold out at Meta's store
• You can still find it at Best Buy in the US and Argos in the UK
• Meta has previously said that once it sells out it's gone for good

The Meta Quest 3S Xbox edition is sold out at Meta’s own store, but thankfully it’s still available to buy from Meta’s third-party partners in the US and UK, Best Buy, and Argos, for exactly the same price – although we don't know for how much longer that will be the case.

As a reminder, this a limited-edition headset drop, and one that I think you’ll want to take advantage of while you can.

Why, you ask?

Well, I’ve just spent too much of my weekend playing VR games on the headset using the included Xbox wireless controller, and attempting to binge the Xbox Game Pass catalog – I say attempting because my attention has been entirely captured by Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and I can see why we gave it four stars.

Yes, you can do this with a regular Meta Quest 3S too, but because you need to acquire your own Xbox wireless controller rather than getting one with your headset the setup process has significantly more points of friction – even if you already have a controller, swapping it between your VR setup and whatever console/PC it was already connected to can be tedious, and enough of a hurdle to you put you off.

What’s more, not only is this limited-edition Meta Quest 3S a delight to use, and a delight to look at with its beautiful Xbox-ified black and green design, it’s also one of the best VR headset deals I’ve seen all year.

A great deal

That’s because each of its separate parts: the 128GB Meta Quest 3s, its Xbox wireless controller, the Elite strap, and 3-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription would collectively come to $494.85 / £464.94 if purchased separately.

By buying the bundle you’re not only getting an exclusive headset and controller design, you’re snagging a $94.86 / £84.86 saving – and that’s before you even consider the additional three months of free Meta Horizon+ which comes with all new Quest 3S purchases, which is worth $23.97 / £23.97 at $7.99 / £7.99 per month).

What’s more, unlike some bundles that are padded with unnecessary and unwanted extras, you’ll actually want to own each of the add-ons included with this headset.

Technically, this bundle is still full-price, but if you wanted to purchase each part of it individually you’d pay close to $100 more, and unlike some bundles, each component is worthwhile. The Elite strap adds extra comfort for your VR gaming sessions, while the Xbox controller and Game Pass subscription will let you play hit games on a giant virtual screen – plus the whole setup looks stunning.View Deal

This deal isn’t officially a discount, but if you were to buy every item on its own, you’d pay close to £90 more, so this is a really great deal. What’s more, each element of this bundle is worth owning, and that’s before you even begin to appreciate the gorgeous, unique black and green color scheme of the headset and its accessories, which is a draw on its own.View Deal

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• Windows 11 has a new optional update
• It fixes a bunch of bugs that have been annoying gamers
• One of the most annoying glitches causes the monitor screen to go black for up to a few seconds when playing games, and it's now resolved

Windows 11's latest patch makes some important improvements for PC gamers, including the resolution of a seriously frustrating black screen glitch, and some useful changes are provided elsewhere, too.

This is the optional update for June (known as KB5060829) and, as Windows Latest reports, it introduces the mentioned fixes for gamers, as well as speeding up the performance of a common task under Windows 11 - namely, unzipping files.

Let's look at those gaming-related solutions first, though, and the highlight here is that Microsoft has cured a problem where "unnecessary display resets" were happening to some folks.

This bug manifests as the screen going black for up to a few seconds when gaming, and also in everyday use. As one Redditor puts it: "So this might fix that issue where my screen just randomly blinks black for a split second while browsing certain websites and playing games?"

That's very much the hope, and plenty of other Windows 11 gamers chime in to say they're suffering at the hands of this bug. There are a couple of reports from users claiming the fix has indeed worked, so that's a hopeful early sign. (Also remember that these fixes are gradually being rolled out, so not everyone will get the cure immediately.)

Microsoft also lets us know that there's a further fix for a problem whereby when graphics settings are changed in a game (or some apps), any off-putting screen flashing that occurs should be reduced.

Another resolution applied in the 'graphics' category for this optional update is the fix for some displays going "unexpectedly green," which I'm guessing is a reference to green screen crashes, rather than a visual corruption, though it could be the latter, and Microsoft doesn't clarify this. Either way, that'd be an annoying problem to face, and it should be vanquished now.

As already mentioned, also noteworthy here is better performance when unzipping files that are compressed in the 7z (7-Zip) or RAR formats that are natively supported in File Explorer with Windows 11. The speed boost is most noticeable in cases where large numbers of files are compressed, and they should be extracted more swiftly- Windows Latest observes that this happens up to 15% faster.

Other nifty moves with this preview update include the taskbar automatically resizing icons to fit in more apps when it gets crowded, and interestingly, we're also getting our first glimpse of the new PC-to-PC migration experience. The latter is provided in the Windows Backup app, and it's been in testing previously, offering an easy way to switch over to a new PC.

This is just the initial rollout, mind you, and the PC-to-PC migration feature won't be fully enabled yet. To begin with, we're just getting the landing page as a "first look at what's coming," and Microsoft notes that: "Support for this feature during PC setup will arrive in a future update."

However, near term, this will be more of a key feature for Windows 10 PCs, and Microsoft will want to push it through for those devices with the operating system's end-of-support deadline looming large. (Microsoft is very keen on getting those folks to upgrade to a new Windows 11 PC, which has caused quite some controversy in recent times).

Finally, another useful touch for gamers with this patch is a fix for some apps freezing up when Alt-Tabbing out of the game running in full-screen. A note of caution here: Windows Latest explains that a couple of folks testing this patch have experienced other weirdness when Alt-Tabbing out of games - like the mouse cursor lagging - but at this point, these are just scattered reports. I wouldn't read much into them yet.

Analysis: Take a chance, or wait it out?

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Dean Drobot)

Of course, this is a preview update, and as such, bugs - like the potential fresh problems with Alt-Tabbing - can be expected. Microsoft is still testing this patch ahead of its release next month, and that's why it's optional.

Because of this, I usually advise Windows 11 users to ignore these patches, especially as there isn't long to wait before the full update is deployed, and any last-minute bugs will (hopefully) be ironed out. In fact, this time around, the wait is particularly short, and the full update for Windows 11 in July arrives in just over a week.

Still, if any given issue is really driving you bananas, you may want to take your chances with the optional update right now (and hope you get lucky in terms of the rollout timeframe). And judging from the feedback on Reddit, a lot of people are really suffering at the hands of the bug causing the screen to go black for a second or three. If this happens at a crucial juncture of a game, it can be seriously frustrating, of course.

Indeed, plenty of Redditors are saying that this bug has been causing them to wonder what on earth is going wrong with their PC, and to suspect a fault with the GPU driver (which, given Nvidia's current woes along those lines, is an obvious conclusion to reach). At least we now know the problem is with Windows 11, and fingers crossed that this patch (and by extension the July release) fully resolves these temporary black screen dropouts.

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• Microsoft has confirmed Windows 11 25H2 is the update for this year
• The upgrade is now officially in testing
• It'll be a more minor update delivered as an 'enablement package' and that's a good thing as we're likely to see fewer bugs than with 24H2

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 25H2 is the next update for its desktop operating system, arriving later this year.

That ends whispers that we might just see the release of Windows 12 - or whatever the next incarnation of the OS will be called - later this year. However, hope of that had already dwindled to pretty much dying embers in all honesty.

The announcement came in an IT Pro blog post from Microsoft that Tom's Hardware flagged.

Microsoft told us: "Today, Windows 11, version 25H2 became available to the Windows Insider community, in advance of broader availability planned for the second half of 2025."

The Windows Insider community is the formal name for those who are testing Windows 11, running preview versions of the OS (in various channels, from the earliest builds in the Canary channel to the Release Preview channel, which, as the name suggests, is one step away from release).

So, some of those testers are now officially using Windows 11 25H2, and Microsoft further confirmed another suspicion that's been previously aired about the next big update for the operating system - that it's what's known as an 'enablement package' or 'eKB' for short.

This means that the move to 25H2 will be a swift upgrade for those who are on Windows 11 24H2, and as Microsoft puts it, the update will be "as easy as a quick restart".

The 25H2 update would typically be expected to arrive in September or October, and I wouldn't expect it any sooner - neither would I rule out the possibility of a November release. As ever, it'll be an ongoing rollout, so it could take some time to reach your PC.

Analysis: Fewer features, but fewer problems?

(Image credit: MAYA LAB / Shutterstock)

How does the enablement package delivery method Microsoft is employing here help to ensure a speedy and simple update? It's because 25H2 is built on the same 'servicing branch' as 24H2, meaning that they use the same code. They are, for all intents and purposes, the same, except 25H2 has some extra features added on top - and because these versions of Windows 11 are the same codebase, those features can effectively be preloaded to devices running 24H2.

What this means is that when it comes to applying the update, it's already in place, and it just has to be enabled. Hence the phrase 'enablement package', and with just a simple switch being flicked to turn on 25H2's features when the update is sent live, it's basically just a quick reboot, and you're done. At least in theory, anyway, barring any issues.

However, what this also means is that there'll be no major changes with Windows 11 25H2. An enablement package release is a fast and quick deployment, but doesn't change anything major with Windows 11's code, as noted, and so we will likely get a fairly limited dollop of new features with 25H2.

In short, don't get your hopes up for anything earthshaking this year regarding Microsoft's changes to Windows 11. However, the flipside is that without any major moves, there's far less chance of any nasty bugs popping up.

Windows 11 24H2 brought in a new underlying platform - Germanium - which was a huge shift, and my theory has long been that this is why we've seen more than the usual helping of critters skittering about in the works of the OS (and some very strange glitches, too). In 2025, that shouldn't happen, and hopefully, Microsoft will get back on course with ensuring Windows 11 runs more smoothly (knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc.).

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