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Appfigures: ChatGPT app sees a 673% increase in global revenue in 2025

A new report from Appfigures shows ChatGPT firmly leading the pack in revenue per download among the top AI assistant apps. Here’s the breakdown. According to the report (via TechCrunch), since launching in May 2023, the ChatGPT app has generated $2 billion in global consumer spending across iOS and Android, with a 673% year-over-year surge in 2025 alone. Appfigures also says the app has been downloaded 318 million times so far this year, 2.8 times more than in the same period last year. Indi

SpaceX reveals why the last two Starships failed as another launch draws near

SpaceX is continuing with final preparations for the 10th full-scale test flight of the company's enormous Starship rocket after receiving launch approval Friday from the Federal Aviation Administration. Engineers completed a final test of Starship's propulsion system with a so-called "spin prime" test Wednesday at the launch site in South Texas. Ground crews then rolled the ship back to a nearby hangar for engine inspections, touchups to its heat shield, and a handful of other chores to ready

Sen. Hawley to probe Meta after report finds its AI chatbots flirt with kids

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said he intends to investigate whether Meta’s generative AI products exploit, deceive, or harm children, after leaked internal documents showed the company’s chatbots were allowed to have “romantic” and “sensual” chats with children. “Is there anything – ANYTHING – Big Tech won’t do for a quick buck?” Hawley wrote in a post on X announcing the investigation. Hawley chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which he says will commence a prob

Applied Materials sinks nearly 14% on weak guidance due to China demand

Applied Materials shares plunged14% after the semiconductor equipment maker issued weak guidance as it faces demand pressures in China. The company forecast adjusted earnings per share of $2.11, falling short of the $2.39 per share expected by LSEG. The company projected $6.7 billion in revenue, versus the $7.34 billion estimate. During an earnings call with analysts, CEO Gary Dickerson said that the current macroeconomic backdrop and trade issues have fueled "increasing uncertainty and lower

Man Falls in Love With an AI Chatbot, Dies After It Asks Him to Meet Up in Person

A man with cognitive impairments died after a Meta chatbot he was romantically involved with over Instagram messages asked to meet him in person. As Reuters reports, Thongbue Wongbandue — or "Bue," as he was known to family and friends — was a 76-year-old former chef living in New Jersey who had struggled with cognitive difficulties after experiencing a stroke at age 68. He was forced to retire from his job, and his family was in the process of getting him tested for dementia following concerni

These are my favorite MagSafe stands for iPhone and StandBy

One of my favorite iPhone features is StandBy, which turns your iPhone into a smart display when it’s in landscape orientation and charging. One of the best ways to take full advantage of StandBy is with an upright wireless charger. Head below for a closer look at some of my favorite MagSafe stands for iPhone, perfect for StandBy. What is StandBy mode? The StandBy feature was introduced in iOS 17 as a new lock screen mode that activates when an iPhone is charging and positioned on its side, i

Sam Altman Admits OpenAI "Totally Screwed Up"

It has been a very long week for OpenAI, whose hotly anticipated GPT-5 model launch landed with a large thud. The company chose to shut down all previous models in favor of its new one, a controversial move that triggered sheer outrage among fans who had grown attached to GPT-4o, a prior model with a "warmer" personality. Within roughly a day of the drop, CEO Sam Altman changed course and allowed paid subscribers access to GPT-4o once more. It was a prescient move, and one that belied his own

Why GPT-4o’s sudden shutdown left people grieving

OpenAI’s decision to replace 4o with the more straightforward GPT-5 follows a steady drumbeat of news about the potentially harmful effects of extensive chatbot use. Reports of incidents in which ChatGPT sparked psychosis in users have been everywhere for the past few months, and in a blog post last week, OpenAI acknowledged 4o’s failure to recognize when users were experiencing delusions. The company’s internal evaluations indicate that GPT-5 blindly affirms users much less than 4o did. (OpenAI

Apple’s Wallet app just made Amazon returns easy, and more is coming

A recent Amazon rollout brought support for adding Amazon return codes to Apple’s Wallet app—and another Amazon-Wallet improvement is coming soon in iOS 26. Amazon return codes can now be saved in Apple Wallet One of Amazon’s greatest strengths has long been the convenience of making and receiving purchases. Running low on something? With the Amazon app on iPhone, you can order more in a few quick taps and get fast delivery. The company has gradually made the experience of returning purchases

What my first five Steam purchases say about me

is a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and the quirky, horny culture of video game communities. There’s a meme currently going around Bluesky where people are posting their first purchases on Steam. Taking a look presents a neat time capsule, offering a glimpse of who we used to be. It also gives us a chance to compare our gaming habits now with what they were 10 or more years ago — that is, if you’re one of the Olds t

Louisiana sues Roblox for creating an environment where ‘child predators thrive’

is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. The state of Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against Roblox, alleging that the company has “permitted and perpetuated an online environment in which child predators thrive, directly contributing to the widespread victimization of minor children in Louisiana.” Roblox sees more than 111.8 mil

Kyte, which billed itself as the ‘best competitor to Hertz,’ shuts down

Rental car startup Kyte has shut down nearly one year after slashing staff and exiting most of its cities in the United States. The company sold its customer list to Turo in July, and then turned right around and entered into a form of receivership in California, according to a notice that went out to Kyte creditors. Kyte fell behind on some of its loans earlier this year, according to the notice. That caused the company’s top lender to repossess and liquidate Kyte’s vehicle fleet. Kyte’s boar

Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead?

Hello Hacker News 🚀🚀🚀 I’ve done a little update on social since publishing of the article, let me copy paste it here. Since I posted my “Open Hardware is dead” article, you’ve been asking me about “that patent” 🤔 I didn’t want you to miss the forest (thousands of filings since 2020) just because of one tree. But let’s take a look now. In this case: the MMU multiplexer (we open sourced it 9 years ago). Anycubic (another IDG Capital-backed company) used the tactic of filing in China for an easy

Healthy Back-to-School Snacks Kids Will Love, With Registered Dietitian Picks

As a mom, I’m always looking for healthy snacks that are easy to serve to my toddler. While I buy plenty of whole foods, prepackaged and shelf-stable snacks are more convenient to carry around in the diaper bag and require only minimal preparation to add to my son’s meal. If you have a kid of any age and are gearing up for going back to school, there are plenty of affordable, healthy options that will add some nutritious value to their diets. I rounded up some of my favorite healthy snacks, pl

Best Apple Watch (2025): Buyer’s Guide to the Series 10 and SE

If you have an iPhone, the Apple Watch is the best wearable to go with it. But what's the best Apple Watch to buy? Just a little while ago, this question was more complicated. In 2024, a court ruling dictated that Apple could no longer sell the latest watches—the Series 9, the Watch Ultra 2, and the Series 10—with a blood oxygen sensor. The medical technology company Masimo alleged that Apple had infringed on its patent. However, in August 2025, Apple redesigned the sensor via a software update,

Anker’s 3-in-1 Qi2 charging station has returned to its Prime Day low

If you’ve ever juggled a phone, a smartwatch, and a pair of wireless earbuds, you know the struggle of keeping them all charged. Rather than go through the process of charging them one by one, a quality charging station can help you manage the chaos and reduce cable clutter. The Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station is a solid option for keeping your devices charged, and it’s currently matching its all-time low of $62.99 ($27 off) at Amazon and Anker’s online storefront — the same price drop we

Apple Watch Series 11: Three new features coming next month

A new wave of Apple Watch models is launching soon. Apple Watch Ultra 3 will rightfully get a lot of attention, but there’s a new Apple Watch Series 11 coming too—here are the rumored new features. #1: Upgraded S11 SiP Where the iPhone uses A-class chips like A18, and Macs and iPads often use M-class like M4, the Apple Watch has an S-class SiP (“System in Package”). Last year, Apple Watch Series 10 debuted a new S10 SiP. While Apple doesn’t always have new SiPs ready annually, recent leaks in

Why the Google Pixel Watch 4 may be a bigger generational leap than we expected

Matthew Miller/ZDNET Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. There's a big chance we'll be getting a new Google smartwatch next week. We're one week away from the August Made by Google event, the tech giant's annual hardware showcase, and rumors and leaks of what's coming on this next generation of AI-infused devices are swirling. Also: I've owned every Google Pixel since the first - here's why 2025's will be different What

How to clear your TV cache (and why it greatly improves performance)

Adam Breeden/ZDNET In the age of smart TVs, convenience is king. With just a few clicks, we can dive into endless entertainment -- but that ease comes with a downside: the buildup of cache data. Also: How to disable ACR on your TV (and why doing so makes such a big difference) Just like on your phone or computer, a cluttered TV cache can lead to sluggish performance, app crashes, and even hinder new content from loading properly. That's why it's important to clear all that extra cache and mak

The Lifecycle of a Pull Request

we shipped a bunch of PR features recently; here's how we built it We’ve spent the last couple of weeks building out a pull request system for Tangled, and today we want to lift the hood and show you how it works. If you’re new to Tangled, read our intro for the full story! You have three options to contribute to a repository: Paste a patch on the web UI Compare two local branches (you’ll see this only if you’re a collaborator on the repo) Compare across forks Whatever you choose, at the

German court declares Karl Marx's teachings unconstitutional

A court in Hamburg, Germany, has stated in the details of a ruling concerning a Karl Marx reading group that Marx’s teachings may be contrary to the “free democratic basic order.” On April 8, the “Marxist School of Politics and Culture Forum” (Masch) won its case against the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) in the Hamburg Administrative Court. The court ruled that the authorities could no longer classify the Hamburg-based association as “left-wing extremist.” Masch had

US may purchase stake in Intel after Trump attacked CEO

Donald Trump has been meddling with Intel, which now apparently includes mulling "the possibility of the US government taking a financial stake in the troubled chip maker," the Wall Street Journal reported. Trump and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan weighed the option during a meeting on Monday at the White House, people familiar with the matter told WSJ. These talks have only just begun—with Intel branding them a rumor—and sources told the WSJ that Trump has yet to iron out how the potential arrangement m

Sam Altman Says ChatGPT Is on Track to Out-Talk Humanity

Never mind the GPT-5 complaints; Sam Altman says he believes ChatGPT is on track to have more conversations per day than all human beings combined. “If you project our growth forward, pretty soon billions of people a day will be talking to ChatGPT,” said the CEO of OpenAI during a dinner with journalists in San Francisco. “ChatGPT will be having more conversations, maybe, than all human words put together, at some point. I think it's unreasonable to expect a single model personality or style to

Applied Materials sinks 13% on weak guidance due to China demand

Applied Materials shares plunged more than 13% after the semiconductor equipment maker issued weak guidance as it faces demand pressures in China. The company forecasted adjusted earnings of $2.11 per this quarter, falling short of the $2.39 per share expected by LSEG. The company projected $6.7 billion in revenue, versus the $7.34 billion estimate. During an earnings call with analysts, CEO Gary Dickerson said that the current macroeconomic backdrop and trade issues have fueled "increasing un

Galaxy Watch Classic fan discovers bezel trick that looks like magic

Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR A Reddit clip shows the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic’s bezel still works when held above the screen, thanks to magnetic sensing. The bezel uses a Hall sensor to detect changes in a magnetic field, rather than a mechanical connection. The same system is used on the latest Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. The rotating bezel is one of the Galaxy Watch Classic’s signature features, but it turns out that it doesn’t actually need to touch the smartwatch to work. It’s one

Tom Cruise Loves Watching Tom Cruise Get Hurt In ‘Mission Impossible’ Movies

We don’t know what the future holds for the Mission: Impossible franchise, but the movies will undoubtedly stand the test of time. For almost 30 years, Tom Cruise has helped turn what could’ve been a simple TV adaptation into one of our most beloved action franchises. And, starting next week, you can watch along with him as that saga takes its potentially final turn. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is coming to digital on August 19, and io9 has a very fun exclusive clip. It’s from one

Scientists Identify a New Glitch in Human Thinking

Good news, everyone! Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have coined a new term to describe our brains being dumb. In a recent study, they provide evidence for a distinct but common kind of cognitive bias—one that makes us reluctant to take the easier path in life if it means retracing our steps. The researchers have named the bias the “doubling-back aversion.” In several experiments, they found that people often refuse to choose a more efficient solution or route if it requir

ChatGPT’s mobile app has generated $2B to date, earns $2.91 per install

ChatGPT’s mobile app is raking in the revenue. Since launching in May 2023, ChatGPT’s app for iOS and Android devices has reached $2 billion in global consumer spending, according to a new analysis by app intelligence provider Appfigures. That figure is approximately 30-times the combined lifetime spending of ChatGPT’s rivals on mobile, including Claude, Copilot, and Grok, the analysis indicates. So far this year, ChatGPT’s mobile app has made $1.35 billion, up 673 percent year-over-year from