A five-year court battle between tech titans Apple and Epic Games may finally be coming to a close.After months of explosive back-and-forth that went as high as the Supreme Court, Apple has reinstated Epic Games' landmark game, Fortnite, back onto its App Store.Fortnite — a free-to-play game which makes money from gamers spending cash on flashy cosmetics — began prompting users to bypass Apple's iOS payment system and pay Epic directly back in August, 2020. The move helped Epic get around Apple's 30 percent fee, a flat tax it charged all developers for selling on the App Store.Apple didn't like that, as Fortnite had over 116 million downloads through the App Store at the time. Apple argued Epic's payment portal violated the App Store's terms of service, and took the massively popular game off its platform.In response, Epic filed suit against Apple on antitrust grounds, launching an admittedly corny "Free Fortnite" campaign, which nonetheless posed a serious question: does Apple have the right to restrict developers' access to the billions of devices that exclusively use the iOS App Store?It's a question that took years to answer, and more twists and turns than a viral Fortnite dance. Apple countersued Epic, seeking damages from Epic's terms of service violation. In September 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a split decision, ruling with Apple on nine of ten counts, but awarding Epic a crucial injunction ordering Apple to allow apps to link to external payment platforms.Notably, Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple wasn't a monopoly, but rather a duopoly alongside Google, which was engaged in a similar legal battle with Epic over the Google Play store. She likewise ordered Epic to pay Apple $3.6 million in damages.Unhappy with the decision, both companies appealed, eventually escalating the issue to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear either appeal. Forced to allow developers to bypass Apple Pay, the company begrudgingly complied, but with on caveat. Apple now required developers to fork over 27 percent of the revenue made this way within 7 days of each transaction — a tactic known as malicious compliance.That, of course, spawned another series of lawsuits in March 2024, as Epic vowed to continue the fight and prove that Apple was acting in bad faith.Though Apple put on a cooperative face as the next phase kicked off, it would later emerge that the company's execs withheld documents, delayed proceedings, misled the court, and lied under oath.On the final day of that trial, Epic introduced a series of messages between senior PR executives at Apple, showing the tech giant's frustration at having to follow the law."How is this still going," wrote Apple corporate communications worker Hannah Smith during an earlier day of trial."I have no idea. I am stunned," replied Marni Goldberg, Apple's director of public affairs, and former press secretary for Senator Joe Manchin. "It's our F****ING STORE," she roared in a message minutes later. "This is very much pissing me off."Now knowing exactly who she was dealing with, Judge Gonzalez Rogers issued her scathing ruling on April 30, 2025, finding Apple "in willful violation" of the court's earlier decisions."In stark contrast to Apple’s initial in-court testimony... documents reveal that Apple knew exactly what it was doing and at every turn chose the most anticompetitive option," Gonzalez Rogers wrote."To hide the truth, Vice-President of Finance, Alex Roman, outright lied under oath," the judge found. Though Roman testified that Apple decided on the 27 percent fee in January 2024 — a split-second decision made after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal — other records prove the tech giant was plotting it as early as July 2023.The ruling found that the decision to ignore the injunction went as high as Apple CEO Tim Cook, who ignored advice to follow the court's decision, and instead went with his "finance team," which convinced him to go through with the 27 percent fee.  As Gonzalez Rogers wrote: "Cook choseSomehow, that wasn't enough hot water. After the April 30 decision, Apple began quickly approving updates to apps linking to third-party payment platforms, according to antitrust journalist Matt Stoller. However, there was one exception: Epic's Fortnite, which Apple had "determined not to take action on the Fortnite app submission" until after all lingering legal appeals were done.Presumably at her wit's end, Gonzalez Rogers issued a brutal one-page order, demanding Apple either make amends with Epic, or else sacrifice an Apple executive to the full wrath of the law."Obviously, Apple is fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or a hearing," the judge raged. "However, if the parties do not file a joint notice that this issue is resolved, and this Court’s intervention is required, the Apple official who is personally responsible for ensuring compliance shall personally appear at the hearing."Within a day of that final order, Apple folded, and has officially allowed Fortnite back on the app store (it's now estimated that the five year legal battle cost Apple $1 billion in lost revenue and legal fees.) Though the appeals battle still rages with Google, this one's a major win for software developers, publishers, and phone gamers everywhere.More on Apple: Tim Cook Has a Strange ObsessionShare This Article

The Avengers are not returning to theaters as initially planned.Marvel had previously slated the two Avengers sequels, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars for May 1, 2026 and May 7, 2027, respectively. Both films have been pushed back from the summer to the holiday season. Their new dates are December 18, 2026 (for Doomsday) and December 17, 2027 (for Secret Wars).Marvel’s next film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is still scheduled to open this summer on July 25, 2025. The only other upcoming MCU movie with a confirmed release date at this point besides the two Avengers is Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That’s currently scheduled for July 31, 2026. In other words, it was originally intended (and presumably carefully planned) to open betweenDoomsday and Secret Wars. Now, unless Sony and Marvel delay that film as well, it will open before either Avengers sequel.MarvelMarvelloading...READ MORE: Every Marvel Movie Ranked From Worst to BestThat could be a major headache for Brand New Day. If the movie was supposed to be set after whatever cliffhanger concludes Doomsday, that could conceivably require major changes to the film’s story. That’s why I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Brand New Day gets delayed now as well. If it’s tied in any significant way to the events of Avengers: Doomsday, it would almost have to be.With this change, the next Avengers movies will be the only installments of the franchise not to open in either early May or late April. Marvel typically releases their films either in the late winter, the early summer, mid-July, or November. But Sony (in conjunction with Marvel) did release Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters on December 17, 2021, and that movie grossed $1.91 billion worldwide. So perhaps that is a good time for a massive superhero crossover film.Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars mark the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this time as Doctor Doom. The massive cast also includes Anthony Mackie, Chris Hemsworth, Letitia Wright, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Tom Hiddleston, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, and Channing Tatum, as well as the stars of The Fantastic Four: First Steps and the recent Thunderbolts*.Get our free mobile appThe Worst Movies With $200 Million BudgetsThese movies cost a lot of money. But money isn’t everything.

This is a wacky, wild superhero game at its core -- and superheroes aren't perfectly balanced.

Actor Nicholas Hoult has listed his Los Angeles home in the Hollywood Hills for $2.85 million. It’s a midcentury gem, complete with glass block windows and a butterfly roof. The Nosferatu star’s 1962-built dwelling, which features three bedrooms and an equal number of baths, is tucked away on a private road in the Outpost Estates neighborhood. Hoult, who stars as villain Lex Luthor in the upcoming Superman reboot, bought the 2,337-square-foot house for $2.33 million in 2018, according to listing records.The airy open-plan living and dining room—where the unique butterfly ceiling is featured with exposed beams and a coat of crisp white paint—boasts treetop views and a sense of indoor-outdoor living, thanks to walls of glass and access to a wraparound deck. A wood-burning fireplace adds a cozy focal point to the expansive space.The separate all-white kitchen is outfitted with dual ovens, a breakfast bar, and a bonus lounge area. Hoult, an avid home cook, surely made use of the chef’s oasis. “I do quite enjoy cooking when I’m not working,” the Menu star told People in 2022. “When I’m working, I just don’t cook at all basically, and then when I get time off I like to putter around in the kitchen. I’m not very good, but I like to do it.”The home’s living and dining area. Photo: Jeff ElsonA floating staircase leads down to the bedrooms, including the primary suite—which offers access to a spacious private deck and steps leading down to the backyard pool.Join NowAD PRO members enjoy exclusive benefits. Get a year of unlimited access for $25 $20 per month.ArrowThe home’s kitchen. Photo: Jeff Elson

AI uses a whole lot of energy. Credit: Photo Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images You've probably heard that statistic that every search on ChatGPT uses the equivalent of a bottle of water. And while that's technically true, it misses some of the nuance. The MIT Technology Review dropped a massive report that reveals how the artificial intelligence industry uses energy — and exactly how much energy it costs to use a service like ChatGPT. The report determined that the energy cost of large-language models like ChatGPT cost anywhere from 114 joules per response to 6,706 joules per response — that's the difference between running a microwave for one-tenth of a second to running a microwave for eight seconds. The lower-energy models, according to the report, use less energy because they uses fewer parameters, which also means the answers tend to be less accurate. You May Also Like It makes sense, then, that AI-produced video takes a whole lot more energy. According to the MIT Technology Report's investigation, to create a five-second video, a newer AI model uses "about 3.4 million joules, more than 700 times the energy required to generate a high-quality image". That's the equivalent of running a microwave for over an hour. Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! The researchers tallied up the amount of energy it would cost if someone, hypothetically, asked an AI chatbot 15 questions, asked for 10 images, and three five-second videos. The answer? Roughly 2.9 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is the equivalent of running a microwave for over 3.5 hours.The investigation also examined the rising energy costs of the data centers that power the AI industry. The report found that prior to the advent of AI, the electricity usage of data centers was largely flat thanks to increased efficiency. However, due to energy-intensive AI technology, the energy consumed by data centers in the United States has doubled since 2017. And according to government data, half the electricity used by data centers will go toward powering AI tools by 2028.This report arrives at a time in which people are using generative AI for absolutely everything. Google announced at its annual I/O event that it's leaning into AI with fervor. Google Search, Gmail, Docs, and Meet are all seeing AI integrations. People are using AI to lead job interviews, create deepfakes of OnlyFans models, and cheat in college. And all of that, according to this in-depth new report, comes at a pretty high cost.Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems. Topics Artificial Intelligence Christianna Silva Senior Culture Reporter Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism. Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.

Available today.Nintendo has today released a new update for its Switch Online 'Nintendo Classics' base tier subscription service - adding four more titles to the Game Boy and Game Boy Color library.This includes the Konami side-scrolling shooter Gradius: The Interstellar Assault (1991/92) and Survival Kids (1999), Kecmo's RPG The Sword of Hope (1989/91), and the Kirby puzzle title Kirby's Star Stacker (1997).Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Hours after Sam Altman and Jony Ive announced on Wednesday that OpenAI was buying Ive’s company, io, in an all-stock transaction valued at $6.5 billion, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski posted a surprising message on X.  Siemiatkowski’s family investment office, Flat Capital, had bought shares in io six months earlier, he said. Since this is an all-stock deal, those io shares will be converted into shares in the for-profit arm of OpenAI. “Excited that @FlatCapital was an investor in io and that we will now receive even more shares in OpenAI at a hefty return for an investment we did some 6 months ago,” Siemiatkowski tweeted.  The post generated so much interest that his investment firm issued a public statement confirming that io was the mystery, unnamed company it backed when it announced its four investments in a “mini-portfolio” of U.S. AI companies. Flat Capital disclosed that it spent 34 million SEK on io, which converts to about $3.6 million. Then came another surprising tweet from former Googler and designer Luke Wroblewski, who now works as a managing director at the secretive Silicon Valley VC powerhouse firm Sutter Hill Ventures.  In a since-deleted tweet and LinkedIn post, Wroblewski wrote, “congrats to io on the $6.5B acquisition by OpenAI today. happy to have been investors in this one.” According to some who saw additional now-deleted tweets about Sutter’s investment, the firm may have been the second largest investor in io. TechCrunch couldn’t confirm that, though. Sutter didn’t respond to our request for comment, and Wroblewski deleted his posts after we reached out.  Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW The biggest investor in io was OpenAI itself, with a 23% stake, sources told Bloomberg, adding that this stake was valued at around $1.5 billion. That means OpenAI paid about $5 billion in stock for the remaining shares. Other io backers, Bloomberg reported, included Laurene Powell Jobs’ firm Emerson Collective, Thrive Capital, Maverick Ventures, SV Angel, and the OpenAI Fund. As we previously reported, that fund isn’t backed with the AI model maker’s money but by outside investors. Despite the deleted tweets, Bloomberg also confirmed Sutter Hill Ventures was an investor.

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETA thief who steals your smartphone can try to crack it themselves, sell it locally, or use it to commit fraud. But your stolen phone could also travel as far away as China. A recent investigation by The Financial Times (paywall) found that a particular building in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei district is home to a treasure trove of second-hand iPhones, including stolen devices.Though several locations in and around the Huaqiangbei district are hot spots for trading used phones, FT's investigation focused mostly on the Feiyang Times building. Much of the buying and selling here is for phones that were legitimately traded in by their owners, according to the reporter who covered the action. But at least some of the activity involves stolen phones, leading the Feiyang Times to be known as China's "stolen iPhone building." Also: 5 warning signs that your phone's been hacked - and how to fight backThe Times relates one unfortunate individual whose iPhone 15 Pro was stolen by thieves in London. Using tracking technology, the victim followed the phone to its final destination in the Huaqiangbei district. After sharing his experience on LinkedIn, he discovered that many other people had encountered similar situations. A woman in North Carolina whose phone was stolen tracked it on its journey from Charlotte to Miami and then finally to Shenzhen, according to WRAL News. In this case, the thieves compounded the crime with a spin on the usual ransomware ploy. In texts sent to the woman, they told her that unless she deactivated the stolen phone, they would sell her private information on the black market, meaning the dark web. Phone theft is on the rise, especially in major cities like London, Paris, and New York. In February, the UK's Metropolitan Police said that phone theft in London is a business that generates £50 million ($67 million) per year. In one week, UK police officials captured 1,000 stolen devices and made 230 arrests, FT reported. A phone that can be cracked easily due to a weak passcode is more lucrative to thieves. In that case, they can steal any personal information and then wipe the phone to sell it as fully functional. However, even a locked and protected phone is valuable. Thieves can simply strip it and sell the used components -- sort of a chop shop for mobile devices.Also: Rebooting your phone daily is your best defense against zero-click attacks - here's whyOne phone seller who spoke to the FT reporter revealed that phones with security measures such as IDs generally sell for about 70% less than unlocked ones. Such phones are then broken down into parts and sold in Shenzhen at a small profit.OK, now that you're sufficiently worried about carrying around your phone, how can you protect it from thieves? Miguel Fornés, a cybersecurity expert at VPN and security service Surfshark, shares his thoughts on phone snatching and offers tips on securing your phone. 1. Take advantage of anti-theft settings iPhones and Android devices both offer theft protection features that can help you better secure your phone. On an iPhone, go to Settings and select Face ID & Passcode. Swipe down the screen, tap the setting for Stolen Device Protection, and turn on its switch.Also: 7 ways to lock down your phone's security - before it's too lateOn an Android device, head to Settings and select Google or Google services. Swipe down the screen for All Services and select Theft Protection. You can now turn on options such as Identity Check, Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock, and Remote Lock. 2. Use the Find my feature iPhones and Android devices also both provide a Find My tool to help you locate a stolen or lost phone. On an iPhone, go to Settings, tap your account name at the top, select Find My, and tap Find My iPhone. Turn on the switches for Find My iPhone, Find My network, and Send Last Location. You can then sign in to another Apple device or the iCloud Find website if you need to track your device. On an Android device, go to Settings, select Security & privacy, and then tap Device finders. Select Find My Device and turn on its switch. To track your phone, you can use Google's Find Hub app on another device or sign in to the Find My Hub website.3. Save your phone's IMEI number If your phone is ever stolen, your provider or even the police can use the IMEI number to try to track it down and even disable it. To find your IMEI number on an iPhone or Android phone, launch the dial pad in the Phone app and dial *#06#. You can then take a screenshot of the IMEI number and the other numbers on display and store the information in a safe and secure place. 4. Use a strong passcode Do you use a simple four-digit number for your passcode, maybe something like 1234? That's just asking for trouble. As with any PIN or password, you need to use one that's strong and secure to prevent a thief from accessing your phone. On an iPhone, you can create a custom numeric or alphanumeric code. On an Android device, you can create a numeric code with up to 16 digits. Though it may be tempting to stick with a four-digit code, consider one with at least six digits for added security. And don't use the same PIN everywhere. "Let's be honest, using the same login everywhere is basically leaving your digital front door wide open," Fornés says. "Avoid simple PINs, like 1234 or birth dates. This makes it harder for thieves to access your phone, even if they watch you type it in. Never use the same passcode for your phone and apps, especially banking. If a thief unlocks your phone, reused PINs could grant full access to sensitive data." 5. Turn off access to Control Center on an iPhone Control Center on an iPhone provides easy entry to key features and controls. For this reason, you should prevent access to this screen when your device is locked. On your iPhone, go to Settings and select Face ID & Passcode. Also: How to open Control Center on your iPhone without swiping from top: 4 easier waysSwipe down the screen to the section on "Allow Access When Locked" and turn off the switch for Control Center.6. Back up your device You can always replace a stolen phone with a new device. But you can't replace the photos, files, or other important information on it unless you have a backup. For that reason, make sure you back up your phone and all its content on a regular basis. You can easily back up and sync your iPhone or Android phone with all its data and then recover it if necessary. "Your more cherished memories might be easily recovered in case of a stolen phone," Fornés says. "After all, nowadays the device is just a 'container' of our data. Be sure your images, documents, etc., are properly backed up."7. Protect your physical space Finally, you naturally want to avoid having your phone stolen in the first place. That means you need to safeguard it when you're in public areas, especially in crowded places. "Always stay vigilant in public, especially in crowded or high-risk areas," Fornés says. "Keep your phone out of sight when not in use. Use an anti-spying screen so people around you can't easily see what you're doing. Also, consider using an anti-theft case with a chain or metallic lanyard to deter quick snatching."Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.Featured

The U.S. Department of the Interior is considering a company's request to lease waters around American Samoa to extract minerals in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

Forward-looking: While night vision is typically associated with bulky goggles that display only monochromatic images, recent experiments suggest the technology could be miniaturized for everyday eyewear. New applications of thin, lightweight filters may allow humans to perceive both infrared and visible light simultaneously. Contact lenses and eyeglasses could one day enable people to see beyond the natural visible light spectrum. Eyewear equipped with this special technology holds promise for enhancing visibility in challenging conditions and introducing new ways to convey information. Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China are developing contact lenses that allow mice and humans to perceive infrared light in multiple colors. Unlike traditional night vision goggles, these lenses don't require an external power source. Additionally, because they are transparent, they don't block visible light – allowing wearers to combine natural and infrared vision. In the image above, the lenses change how letters appear under near-infrared light (bottom) compared to visible light (top), in one case revealing a previously hidden letter. In another experiment, mirrors that appeared monochromatic in visible light became more colorful under near-infrared, while those showing color in visible light shifted hues under NIR. The study, published in Cell, describes how upconversion nanoparticles convert light just outside the visible spectrum – known as near-infrared – into visible red, green, and blue light. Test subjects wearing the lenses were able to detect previously invisible colors and perceive near-infrared light beams. // Related Stories Although night vision is the most obvious application, the technology could also enhance visibility in foggy or dusty environments. Smart devices could use it to assist during emergencies, and wearers could receive information encoded in infrared light. The technology may also benefit individuals with color blindness. Although the experimental lenses do not yet provide a sharp infrared image, specially designed eyeglasses incorporating this technology can enhance image quality, and nanoparticle development is ongoing. Interestingly, wearing the lenses allows near-infrared light to be seen even with closed eyes, as infrared light penetrates eyelids more effectively than visible light – making near-infrared information clearer. The study parallels a paper published last year by Australian researchers, who used metasurface-based upconversion technology to demonstrate eyeglasses that merge infrared and visible light. Their goal: to create thinner, lighter, and more practical night vision gear. Continued research aims to expand access to more of the infrared spectrum.