Apple has reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, with the holiday sales boosting revenue to a record $124.3 billion in the first results call with new CFO Kevan Parekh.
Apple CEO Tim Cook [left], CFO Kevan Parekh [right]
The first quarter of Apple's fiscal year is typically the biggest across all periods, following the usually intensive holiday shopping period and iPhone launches. The Q1 2025 results follow exactly the same pattern.
In the first quarter, Apple's revenue hit $124.3 billion, up from $119.58 billion reported one year ago in Q1 2024.
A quick blurb in a larger story about increased advertising spend from Amazon suggests Apple may have considered resuming ads on X, but recent controversial acts by Elon Musk may affect its decision.
The X logo that replaced the Twitter blue bird
It seems in the run-up to inauguration day, Apple may have at least considered or had discussions about returning advertising to X in some respect. As of this publication, it still hasn't returned and there is no information about how recent events have affected this decision.
The one-liner can be found in a Wall Street Journal report about Amazon increasing ad spend on X. Apple and other big tech companies paused ad spend in November 2023 after CEO Elon Musk promoted a post directed at the US Jewish community.
Today is the day that Blackwell GPUs goes on sale ... and they are now all gone! You can search for them to your heart's content but the chances of you finding…
People are exposed to more noise in the United States during special events like the Super Bowl, the Apple Hearing Study has confirmed, with elevated levels happening well before the game takes place.
Apple Hearing Study on the Apple Research app, and the Apple Watch Noise app. Image credit: Apple
The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched live events on the planet, and supporters often get a little loud during the game. The latest results from the Apple Hearing Study indicate that it's a phenomenon that is felt across the United States.
The report published by the University of Michigan's School of Public Health examined the data from 115,049 Apple Hearing Study participants, capturing levels via the Apple Watch Noise app. The team wanted to know if the noise levels of participants were raised during major events.
It's a bad day for developers and lovers of GitHub as there is currently a major outage effecting just about every part of the site. Just about every service is having…
Quantic Dream are known best for their work on narrative-driven choice-based games tackling various themes and tough topics – to greater and lesser success. Interestingly, one of their more forgotten releases, 2013’s Beyond: Two Souls, is now getting a TV show adaptation headed by the original game’s star ‘Elliot Page’.
As reported by Deadline, Elliot Page’s Pageboy production company has acquired the rights to develop a TV show based on Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls.
‘Beyond’ the fact that Beyond: Two Souls is easily one of the studio’s more forgotten entries, this announcement comes as a surprise due to previous controversies surrounding the game following its release.
For the uninitiated, the game’s star Elliot Page and Quantic Dream strained their relationship when it was discovered that fully nude models of Page were created by the studio without consent – leading to the actor considering legal action against Quantic Dream.
It seems as though Elliot Page has let bygones be bygones, releasing a statement on this latest announcement, writing “Filming the game was one of the most challenging and fulfilling acting experiences of my career. The story’s rich narrative and emotional depth offer us a fantastic foundation. We want to create a unique vision of the characters and their journeys that resonates with fans and newcomers.”
Quantic Dream Founder and president David Cage offered his own take on the announcement, saying “We are absolutely thrilled to collaborate again with Elliot Page on this project. I was blown away by his acting performance in the game, and I couldn’t think of anyone else to tell this story with the same passion on another medium.”
Given the unique story-telling methods utilised in Beyond: Two Souls, it will be interesting to see how this adaptation is ultimately…adapted – and whether it will wind up being better than the game itself.
KitGuru says: Are you surprised by the announcement? What did you think of Beyond: Two Souls? What’s your favourite Quantic Dream game? Let us know down below.
When it was first announced, there were fears that the Silent Hill 2 Remake from Bloober Team would not be able to do the PS2 survival horror classic justice. Fortunately, since its launch last October, the game has not only gone to be a critical hit, but a sales success too, having now sold over 2 million copies.
Making the announcement via a press release (translated by Gematsu), publisher Konami revealed that Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 Remake has sold over 2 million copies as of the 23rd of January.
For context, the title surpassed its first major milestone with 1 million total copies sold in under two weeks – easily making it one of the fastest selling entries in the relatively niche series.
Given the continued ongoing success of Silent Hill 2 Remake, it will be interesting to see how Bloober Team and Konami’s relationship evolves from here on out.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the Silent Hill 2 Remake? Does it do the original justice? What do you want to see next from Bloober Team? Let us know down below.
Amazon's month-end MacBook Air sale delivers prices as low as $799 on models equipped with at least 16GB RAM.
Grab a MacBook Air from $799 - Image credit: Apple
Apple's MacBook Air line is on sale this Thursday, with the M2 model with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage ringing in at $799 on Amazon thanks to a $200 instant rebate.
A massive data leak from AI startup DeepSeek has raised alarms about the security of sensitive user data in the rapidly evolving AI industry.
DeepSeek AI
Cybersecurity researchers at Wiz recently found a major security lapse at DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup. The company, known for its DeepSeek-R1 AI model, had left a ClickHouse database exposed — an oversight with serious consequences.
Over a million log entries, containing chat history, secret keys, and backend details, were left unprotected in the exposed database. Worse, the database allowed full administrative control without authentication, making it a goldmine for potential attackers.
Continuing its impressive eighteen-year winning streak, Apple has managed to secure first ranking on Fortune's annual 'Worlds Most Admired Companies' list once again.
Apple CEO Tim Cook
To determine the best of the best, Fortune and it's partner, Korn Ferry, began with a list of 1,500 companies, of which 1,000 were the largest U.S. companies, ranked by revenue. The remaining were non-U.S. companies that made more than $10 billion in revenue.
Then, 3,380 executives, directors, and analysts were asked to rate enterprises in their own industry on nine criteria. Categories included things like investment value, quality of management, products, social responsibility, and ability to attract talent.
Ever since the PlayStation 5 launched, Sony’s monthly PS Plus Essential game service has offered a mix of both PS4 and PS5 titles. With the 9th-gen console well into its mid-life-cycle right now, Sony has determined it’s finally time to move on, with all future PS Plus games being PS5 titles starting from next year.
As part of the latest blog post detailing PS Plus Essential’s line-up for February, Sony offered an “update on PS4 games for PlayStation Plus” with the Director for game services and content at SIE – Adam Michel – writing:
“As many of our players are currently playing on PS5 and have shifted toward redeeming and accessing PS5 titles from the Monthly Games and Game Catalog benefit, PlayStation Plus is also evolving with this trend and will focus on offering PS5 titles through the Monthly Games and Game Catalog benefit starting January 2026.”
Explaining exactly how this will work, Michel continued, “As we shift to PS5, PS4 games will no longer be a key benefit and will only be occasionally offered for PlayStation Plus Monthly Games and Game Catalog starting January 2026. We may still provide titles that can be playable on both PS4 and PS5 consoles after this date.”
While there have been plenty of months in which all three titles have featured PS5 versions (as is the case with February’s line-up), it’s nice to know that this will soon become more of a rule than the exception.
With the PS5 supporting backwards compatibility, redeeming PS4 games still offered plenty of benefits, but given the fact that the console is over a decade old it is perhaps for the best optically that Sony moves on.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this change? Should it have happened years ago? Is PS Plus Essential worth it? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Intel's Arc Battlemage GPU family might be getting a few new members. New PCI IDs spotted in Intel's Linux patches suggest the company is preparing to launch three additional Battlemage graphics cards.
While the current Battlemage lineup consists of only the Arc B580 and B570, rumours have been swirling about a more powerful Battlemage GPU, the BMG-G31. The new PCI IDs found by @GawroskiT differ from the existing IDs for the B580 and B570, suggesting that Intel plans to release more Battlemage cards.
In addition, there are reports that Intel has started shipping cards with a clamshell memory configuration. This could allow for increased VRAM capacity, potentially paving the way for a 24GB Arc Battlemage graphics card. This aligns with previous rumours suggesting a 24GB Arc Pro model for workstations and AI workloads could be on the way.
With their upcoming GPU releases, Nvidia and AMD are focusing on the high-end and mainstream segments. As such, Intel could well capitalise on the demand for capable and affordable gaming graphics cards. We've already seen what Battlemage can do in the £200-£300 bracket, and it's generally solid – at least when talking about raw performance. Expanding to other pricing segments would surely put some welcome pressure on AMD and Nvidia.
KitGuru says: What do you think these three new Intel PCI IDs stand for? Are they for workstation solutions, consumer cards, or a mix of both?
It's been two years since NVIDIA introduced its Ada Lovelace GPUs, kicking things off with the RTX 4090 and finishing up the initial lineup with the SUPER family At CES, the company unveiled its new RTX 50 "Blackwell" family which features a brand new architecture and several changes such as new cores, AI accelerators, new memory standards, and the latest video/display capabilities. Today, NVIDIA is releasing the second fastest card within its "RTX 50" portfolio, the GeForce RTX 5080. The GeForce RTX 5080 is a top-of-the-line graphics card, designed for enthusiast gamers, and features a price point of $999 US […]
Vanguard is MSI's new addition to the company's GeForce RTX 50 product stack. It sits slightly below Suprim and offers a similar premium design with a strong cooler and factory OC. In our testing, the Vanguard's thermal solution is actually the strongest of the 10 RTX 5080 cards that we've tested so far.
The ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Astral OC is the company's ultra-premium custom-design retailing at $1500, a shocking $500 increase over the NVIDIA MSRP, or +50%. In return you get a quad-slot, quad-fan cooling solution, a large factory OC and the best OC potential we've seen on a RTX 5080.
The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC comes with an improved triple-fan cooler and features a dual BIOS, so you can enable "quiet" mode. Gigabyte was also generous with the power limit, you can run at up to 450 W, which is the highest of all the cards tested today.
The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Suprim SOC is the company's flagship custom design for this launch. It comes with a powerful cooling solution that's among the strongest in our testing. Noise levels are fantastic, whisper-quiet. This is the card you want if you're looking for a low-noise RTX 5080 experience.
The Palit GeForce RTX 5080 GameRock OC comes with impressive bling and a powerful cooling solution. Additionally, it includes a factory overclock that nets you an additional 5% in real-life FPS across our whole test suite. Cooling performance is also improved over the NVIDIA FE.
The Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 Amp Extreme Infinity comes with large RGB lighting elements to bling up your case. You also get a triple-fan cooling solution and a factory overclock. In our testing the gaming performance was the second best, right behind the $1500 ASUS Astral OC.
Colorful's GeForce RTX 5080 Vulcan OC is the company's flagship release with a high-quality all-metal cooler that rivals the build quality of the ASUS Astral. You also get tons of cooling potential and a factory overclock to 2685 MHz rated boost.
The Gainward GeForce RTX 5080 GS "Golden Sample" is a factory overclocking custom-design variant of the RTX 5080. It comes with RGB lighting support, vapor-chamber cooling, three fans and an OC to 2700 MHz rated boost.
TSMC and Apple's partnership hasn't always been certain, with a new interview detailing how the company fended off an attempt by Intel to become Apple's chip foundry partner in 2011.
TSMC has a long history being Apple's chip producer, with it making everything from iPhone chips to Apple Silicon. However, there was a chance that Intel could've been in that role.
In an interview with YouTube channel Acquired, TSMC founder Morris Chang explained how Apple paused talks with TSMC in February 2011, to hear a proposal from Intel. At the time, Intel wanted to become the firm to construct Apple's chips, in the midst of when Intel chips were used throughout the Mac lineup.
GOG is replacing the Community Wishlist tool with a new system called Dreamlist. Like its predecessor, Dreamlist will give gamers the power to revive their favourite classic titles, allowing users to vote on which retro games they want to see restored and preserved on the GOG platform.
GOG, known for its dedication to bringing classic games to modern audiences, has long championed game preservation. Its latest project, Dreamlist, takes this commitment further by giving the community a direct voice in the preservation process.
Essentially an evolution of GOG's Community Wishlist, Dreamlist allows users to vote on the games they want to see updated and supported on the platform. This feedback helps GOG prioritise its preservation efforts and signals to rights holders that there's a demand for these classic titles, potentially paving the way for their re-release.
GOG's Preservation Program focuses on revitalising classic games that their original developers or publishers might have abandoned. This can involve adding support for higher resolutions, modern controllers, cloud saves, and other enhancements that make these games more accessible and enjoyable for today's players. Dreamlist streamlines this process by providing a direct channel for community feedback. Some of the games advanced by GOG's staff include Freelancer, Resident Evil: Code Veronica X, Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection, Final Fantasy VII, The Operative: No One Lives Forever, Alien Trilogy, Diablo II and Discworld 1.
KitGuru says: While Dreamlist offers a promising avenue for game preservation, it's important to acknowledge the challenges involved. Reviving retro PC games can be complex, often requiring technical expertise and navigating complicated rights issues. However, the power of a passionate community shouldn't be underestimated. Together, gamers can demonstrate demand for these games and potentially influence their re-release, ensuring that these gems of gaming history are not forgotten.
In just a few hours, NVIDIA will officially launch its next flagship graphics card, the GeForce RTX 5090 Founder's Edition. There might well be shortages or price hikes, but that's another matter entirely. Hardcore PC gamers have been waiting for more than usual (the GeForce RTX 4090 launched in October 2022) to get a new GPU, and they're eager for it despite the high price (the graphics card's official MSRP is $1,999), as shown by the queues that have already started forming outside some stores. Should you be paying that much, though, even if you can afford it? In this […]