A UK competition authority investigation has concluded that Apple and Google’s control over mobile browsers is restricting innovation and economic growth. The findings highlight anti-competitive policies that limit consumer choice, hinder business opportunities, and reduce incentives for rival browser developers to innovate.
The 611-page final report, published on Wednesday, focuses primarily on Apple's restrictive policies within iOS, as well as Google's controversial revenue-sharing agreement with Apple.
The investigation raised multiple concerns over Apple’s control of mobile browsing, citing several ways in which the company’s policies suppress competition:
The investigation also criticized Google’s agreement with Apple, which sees Google paying Apple a significant share of search ad revenue generated through Safari and Chrome on iOS. This arrangement:
The report states that this revenue-sharing deal is so substantial that it "significantly limits the financial incentive to compete."
Despite these findings, the UK regulator has not taken direct enforcement action. Instead, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is waiting for new antitrust powers under the UK's Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act (DMCC), which came into effect in January 2025.
The CMA is currently conducting a Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigation into Apple and Google, which will determine whether they qualify as digital gatekeepers under the new law. If they do, the CMA will have the authority to impose specific obligations and restrictions on their operations.
The CMA has ruled out using its standard market investigation powers for now, stating that this approach would carry “significant risks to effectiveness.” Instead, it is recommending enforcement through the DMCC’s stricter regulatory framework, which is designed specifically for overseeing dominant digital platforms.
While no enforcement action is being taken immediately, the report outlines potential regulatory interventions that could be imposed if the CMA's SMS investigation confirms Apple and Google’s market dominance. These include:
Apple disputed the findings, arguing that the proposed remedies could compromise security, privacy, and the user experience. In a statement to MacRumors, Apple stated:
"Apple believes in thriving and dynamic markets where innovation can flourish. We face competition in every segment and jurisdiction where we operate, and our focus is always the trust of our users. We have concerns with this report and believe the remedies it discusses would undermine privacy, security, and the overall user experience. We will continue to engage constructively with the CMA to best address their concerns."
Google has not yet publicly responded to the final report.
The $700 PlayStation 5 Pro already delivers sharper, smoother, and more stable graphics than the standard PS5. But in 2026, Sony plans to take visual fidelity even further by integrating a new AI-powered upscaling technique, based on AMD’s FSR 4, which has already debuted in AMD’s latest RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards.
PlayStation’s lead architect, Mark Cerny, confirmed the company’s vision, stating:
“Our target is to have something very similar to FSR 4’s upscaler available on PS5 Pro for 2026 titles as the next evolution of PSSR.”
Many PS5 Pro games already use PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), an AI-based upscaler that can convert 720p images to 4K while enhancing visual elements like particle effects. Compared to AMD’s FSR 3, PSSR has shown impressive results, but Sony isn’t stopping there.
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In a newly revealed collaboration with AMD, Sony played a role in developing FSR 4, which leverages a neural network-based upscaler for even sharper, more detailed images. Now, Sony plans to bring this technology to the PS5 Pro, improving the console’s upscaling quality beyond what PSSR currently offers.
Sony’s partnership with AMD, known as Project Amethyst, was first publicly announced in December 2023 as a multiyear collaboration. However, according to Cerny, this partnership actually started earlier and FSR 4 is its first major achievement:
“The neural network (and training recipe) in FSR 4’s upscaler are the first results of the Amethyst collaboration… a more advanced approach that can exceed the crispness of PSSR.”
While FSR 4 won’t immediately replace PSSR, Sony is actively working on integrating it into the PS5 Pro’s ecosystem. Developers are still encouraged to use PSSR for now, as it will take time to fully implement FSR 4’s AI-powered upscaling into the console and future titles.
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Sony’s collaboration with AMD under Project Amethyst might extend beyond the PS5 Pro. Cerny hints that this machine learning technology could be used across multiple devices, allowing developers to seamlessly transition their code from one platform to another.
“Now to be clear, this technology has uses beyond PlayStation, and it’s about supporting broad work in machine learning across a variety of devices.”
This suggests that future Sony products, possibly including handhelds, VR devices, or even cloud gaming platforms, could benefit from these AI advancements.
Bluesky has just made a notable upgrade to its platform, allowing users to upload videos up to three minutes long. This new feature, announced on Monday, significantly expands the original 60-second video limit that was introduced when video support first launched back in September.
With this extension, Bluesky is starting to catch up to some of its biggest competitors in the social media space. For instance, X (formerly Twitter) lets non-paying users upload videos up to two minutes and 20 seconds, while Meta’s Threads allows videos of up to five minutes.
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This update is also great news for third-party apps trying to carve out a niche for video content on Bluesky, such as Bluescreen and Skylight. These apps are working to create a more video-focused experience, whether through a video-first Bluesky client or entirely separate apps using Bluesky’s AT Protocol. The expanded video length now brings Bluesky closer to TikTok, which lets users post videos up to 10 minutes long.
In addition to the video upgrade, Bluesky introduced a new “Chat requests” screen, which gives users better control over messages from people they don’t follow. When a user receives a direct message (DM) from an unknown account, they can now decide whether to accept or reject it right from this new screen.
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The platform has also streamlined its account muting feature. Now, users can mute an account directly from a post by simply tapping the three-dot menu and selecting “Mute account.” Bluesky has made additional improvements as well, such as better tablet layouts on the web and an enhanced moderation reporting flow to improve user experience across devices.
Apple has secured another legal victory in its ongoing battle with AliveCor, as a federal appeals court upheld the invalidation of three patents that AliveCor claimed Apple infringed with the Apple Watch. As a result, the court has vacated a prior International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling, preventing a potential import ban on the Apple Watch.
The dispute began in 2021 when AliveCor sued Apple, alleging that the Apple Watch violated patents related to heart rate monitoring and ECG technology. Initially, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) found that Apple had infringed on these patents. However, Apple challenged the ruling, bringing the case before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
Upon review, the PTAB determined that key claims in AliveCor’s patents were invalid, significantly weakening the case against Apple. Despite this, the ITC recommended a limited exclusion order, which could have banned certain Apple Watch models from being imported into the U.S.
Apple appealed the ITC ruling, arguing that the patents in question had already been invalidated by the PTAB. Meanwhile, AliveCor appealed the PTAB’s decision, hoping to reinstate its claims against Apple.
This week, the federal appeals court upheld the PTAB ruling, confirming that the patents were not valid and, as a result, nullifying the ITC’s decision. This means that Apple will not face an import ban over this case.
Apple expressed gratitude for the ruling, emphasizing its commitment to health technology innovation:
"We thank the Federal Circuit for its careful consideration in this case. Apple's teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features that meaningfully impact users' lives, and we intend to stay on this path."
AliveCor, on the other hand, expressed frustration and disappointment, arguing that the case reflects broader challenges for smaller innovators:
"These cases go beyond AliveCor; they represent every small company and future innovation that is at risk of being suppressed by a Goliath."
The company also stated that it will continue to explore legal options, including potential further appeals, and reaffirmed its commitment to developing AI-powered cardiac care solutions.
While Apple has successfully fended off AliveCor, it hasn’t been as lucky in another high-profile patent dispute with Masimo over blood oxygen sensing technology. That case has resulted in an Apple Watch import ban in the U.S., forcing Apple to disable the blood oxygen feature in U.S. models.
For now, Apple avoids another major Apple Watch setback, but with ongoing legal challenges, its battles over health-related patents are far from over.
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Last week, OpenAI announced GPT-4.5, describing it as its "largest and most knowledgeable model yet." Initially, it was exclusively available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers for $200 per month. However, today, it has become accessible at a lower cost.
On Wednesday, OpenAI announced via X (formerly Twitter) that GPT-4.5 is now available to ChatGPT Plus users for $20 per month. While the full rollout was expected to take one to three hours, it was completed within an hour. OpenAI has not yet provided details on specific usage limits but noted that rate limits will be adjusted based on user demand.
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GPT-4.5 aims to offer better alignment with user intent, fewer hallucinations, enhanced emotional intelligence, and more natural interactions. These improvements stem from unsupervised learning and enhanced reasoning capabilities.
Unlike OpenAI's "o1" model, GPT-4.5 does not utilize chain-of-thought (CoT) reasoning, but it delivers efficient reasoning and improved social cue awareness.
During demonstrations, GPT-4.5 responded more intuitively than the "o1" model. For instance, when asked to generate hateful content, GPT-4.5 provided nuanced alternatives rather than outright negative responses. Additionally, for technical inquiries, GPT-4.5 offered more natural and fluid responses compared to the structured answers given by "o1." This makes GPT-4.5 well-suited for everyday tasks such as writing and problem-solving.
GPT-4.5 incorporates traditional supervised fine-tuning (SFT) and reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), along with new supervision methods. In a comparative demonstration of different GPT models answering the question, "Why is seawater salty?" GPT-4.5 stood out with engaging and conversational responses.
GPT-4.5 integrates advanced ChatGPT features such as Search, Canvas, and file/image uploads. However, it does not yet support multimodal features like Voice Mode or video. OpenAI plans future improvements to make transitioning between models more seamless.
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GPT-4.5 outperformed its predecessor, GPT-4o, in key benchmarks such as Competition Math (AIME 2024), PhD-level Science (GPQA Diamond), and coding tests (SWE-Bench).
Notably, GPT-4.5 closely matched or even surpassed OpenAI’s reasoning-focused model, "o3-mini," in specific areas, particularly in coding (SWE-Lancer Diamond) and multilingual (MMMLU) benchmarks.
Additionally, according to SimpleQA evaluations, GPT-4.5 demonstrated higher accuracy and fewer hallucinations compared to previous models, including GPT-4o, o1, and o3-mini.
In human comparative testing, GPT-4.5 was preferred over GPT-4o for everyday tasks, professional use, and creative work.